MADRAS: The ongoing investigations by the Enforcement Directorate into the cases against those close to Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha, including her close friend, Mrs. Sasikala Natarajan, suffered a big setback last week with the sudden transfer of the officers in charge of these cases.

Official sources said that the Directorate had affected unprecedented en masse transfer of 135 officers at the all India level, including Madras. In Madras, six enforcement officers and 10 assistant enforcement officers were transferred to various centers.

Those transferred included Mr. K.V. Balasubramanian, who is the investigating officer for the most sensitive FERA case against Mrs. Sasikala, and Mr. Kistoor Chand, the investigating officer of FERA cases against Mrs. Sasikala’s nephew, Mr, T.T.V. Dinakaran, and the suspended IAS official, Mr. A.N. Dyaneswaran.

Similarly, investigations against Mrs. Sasikala’s cases relating to the transactions of her family’s television channel and some suspected hawala payments to part finance the purchase of a tea estate in Nilgiris district are al a sensitive stage and some of the transferred officers were Upped to go abroad to continue with the probe.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 3, 1996