Bangalore:Â Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa Thursday answered 379 questions from a special court judge here in a disproportionate assets case and will face an equal number Friday, her lawyer said.
“She gave precise and proper answers to all the 379 questions,” Jayalalithaa’s counsel B. Kumar told reporters after the chief minister’s first appearance in the court here in the over-a-decade-old case against her.
He said Jayalalithaa will Friday answer another 379 questions to be posed by special court judge B.M. Mallikarjunaiah, who held a special sitting in the city central prison complex in view of her security needs.
Jayalalithaa flew back to Chennai, about 350 km away, after Thursday’s deposition in the case, in which she is charged with amassing Rs.66 crores between 1991 and 1996 when also she was chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
The case was filed in Chennai but transferred to Bangalore by the Supreme Court in 2003 to ensure fair and free trial.
Earlier in the day, Jayalalithaa landed at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s airport in city centre and drove in a convoy of vehicles to the prison complex in eastern suburb of Paprappana Agrahara, about 10 km away.
She greeted curious onlookers on the way with her typical ‘namaste’ and a smile.
Jayalalithaa was directed by the Supreme Court to appear in person in the Bangalore court though she had cited security concerns and her busy schedule as chief minister to seek exemption.
The apex court had rejected her plea to be allowed to give her statement through video conference.
The Parappana Agrahara jail was heavily guarded with around 1,500 Bangalore city police personnel assisted by several of their Tamil Nadu counterparts.
IANS
