Poes Garden incidents orchestrated by brother, Sasikala's family: Deepa

Chennai: In a drama involving the relatives of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, her niece J. Deepa on Sunday alleged that she was manhandled by the security guards at her aunt's residence here, and blamed her brother Deepak and AIADMK chief V. K. Sasikala's family for "orchestrating" the entire episode.
Deepa, who claimed that she had been receiving death threats for the past few days, said she was contemplating initiating legal action against Deepak and Sasikala's family for the "attack" on her. She added that she had been receiving threats on phone and through letters and that she had sought police protection.
Claiming that she visited Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence at Deepak's invitation, Deepa accused her brother of "colluding" with AIADMK (Amma) chief V. K. Sasikala and her deputy T. T. V. Dhinakaran in "orchestrating today's incidents". "Deepak himself made me come by repeatedly calling me. I had no plans to come here today but he asked me to come to garland the portrait (of Jayalalithaa)," she told reporters. "I am planning to initiate legal action against Deepak, Sasikala's family and the staff at Poes Garden for today's attack," she added.
Deepa, the leader of the MGR Amma Deepa Peravai, also alleged that Deepak had "connived" with Sasikala to "plot" Jayalalithaa's death, adding that she could prove it. She also claimed to be in possession of the documents related to the Poes Garden property.
Sources in the AIADMK Amma camp, who were present at Poes Garden, denied Deepa's allegation that she was attacked. According to them, Deepa's visit was not scheduled and she wanted to garland a portrait of her late aunt, which was kept in the front porch of the sprawling house. She was allowed to garland the portrait after which she wanted to enter the house, which was not permitted, they said. "Suddenly, she wanted to enter the house to which we said we did not have the authority to allow her. We also pointed out to her that the house was locked and asked her to leave the premises," the sources added. Deepa said she could identify those who "manhandled" her.
She alleged that the crew of a TV channel was also attacked by the guards at Poes Garden. Deepa was seen engaged in a heated argument with her brother. Her husband Madhavan was by her side. Deepak was present when Deepa arrived at Poes Garden. Deepa said she had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the situation.
Deepak could not be reached for a response on the charges levelled by his sister. However, he has been claiming for long that he and his sister are the "legal heirs" of Jayalalithaa's 'Veda Nilayam' residence, located at the posh Poes Garden locality here. Deepak had, along with Sasikala, performed the last rites of Jayalalithaa, who died on December 5, last year.
Meanwhile, some reporters alleged that they were "stopped" from covering Deepa's visit to Poes Garden. The Poes Garden house was occupied by AIADMK general secretary V. K. Sasikala, a close aide of Jayalalithaa, till she surrendered in a Bengaluru court in February to serve her term in the Rs660.66 million disproportionate assets case. There have been demands from the AIADMK's O. Panneerselvam camp that the house be converted into a memorial. The front portion of the house, where Jayalalithaa used to receive her supporters, was thrown open to the public for some time in the aftermath of her demise.