Sasikala breaks down in court

Bangalore: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's former close aid V.K. Sasikala on Saturday broke down in a Bangalore court while she was interrogated in connection to the Rs 66-crore disproportionate assets case that also involves the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo.

Sasikala reportedly told the court that Jayalalithaa was not involved in the case.

According to reports, Sasikala said that she 'alone' operated the bank account that is in question and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was only a partner in the firm.

Jayalalithaa's former aid on Saturday recorded her statement for the first time in connection with the case.

On Dec 19, Jayalalithaa had expelled her disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran, close aide Sasikala, her husband M Natarajan and 11 others from the party's primary membership.

Sasikala is one of the key accused in the Rs 66-crore disproportionate assets case that involves Jayalalithaa.

Jayalalithaa has already appeared several times before the Bangalore trial court in connection to the disproportionate assets case which dates back to 1991-1996.

Sasikala had accompanied the AIADMK leader during hearings at the trail court.

Earlier in 1996, Jaya had distanced herself from Sasikala when both of them were arrested by M Karunanidhi's DMK government.

But Jaya patched up with Sasikala later, who eventually became a power centre in AIADMK.