Disgraced Tamil leader jailed over graft

Disgraced Indian politician VK Sasikala was jailed Wednesday for corruption, just as she was on the cusp of becoming the leader of one of India’s most prosperous states.

Sasikala set off by car from her base in Chennai to Bangalore where she will serve her four-year sentence, a day after judges found her guilty of illegally amassing assets worth 10 million.

Flanked by scores of supporters, Sasikala first paid an emotional tribute at a memorial to her long-time mentor Jayalalithaa Jayaram, Tamil Nadu state’s long-serving chief minister and a co-accused in the case before she died in December. Sasikala could be seen pounding Jayalalithaa’s memorial with her palms and battling to hold back tears before being driven away in a SUV in the middle of a motorcade at the start of the 350-kilometre (220 mile) trip.

Earlier in the day India’s top court rejected a plea to allow her more time to surrender to authorities before beginning the sentence, which bans her from running for public office for a decade.

The 59-year-old had been anointed as Jayalalithaa’s successor by the state’s dominant party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. It had been expected she would be sworn in later this week until Tuesday’s bombshell verdict. The sentence brought a dramatic halt to the former video parlour saleswoman’s meteoric rise up the political ranks.

Sasikala had been involved in a bitter battle with acting chief minister, O Panneerselvam, who had been trying to block her ascent. But before Tuesday’s ruling she appeared to have won enough support to be sworn in by the state assembly this week.

She skipped Tuesday’s court hearing and instead stayed at a resort in Chennai with several dozen legislators over fears that Panneerselvam’s camp might try and poach them before her investiture.

The corruption case dates back to the late 1990s, when Jayalalithaa and Sasikala were accused of profiting from the chief minister’s office and acquiring wealth beyond their income.

They were jointly accused of illegally amassing assets including bungalows, luxury cars, tea estates and nearly 30 kilogrammes (66 pounds) of gold worth around 660 million rupees, equivalent to around 10 million.

Sasikala had spent nearly a month in the same Bangalore prison in 2014 before being let out on bail.