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Sunday, July 4, 1999
Jaya's record -- 26 cars in eight years
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JULY 3: It is not just the number of pairs of footwear owned by former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha which is mind-boggling but also the number of vehicles including chassis purchased by Amma and her friends.In just eight years (between 1988 and 1996), various private automobile dealers had sold as many as 26 cars, jeeps or bus chassis to Jayalalitha, her close friend Sasikala Natarajan and her disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran or to some firms in which either of these were partners. Incidentally, most of these vehicles were purchased between 1991 and 1996, when Jayalalitha as Chief Minister was drawing just Re one as a token salary. Details of the transactions were given by eight witnesses before special judge-I S Sambandam today during the proceedings in the Rs 66.65 crore wealth case.The first of the transactions took place in March 1988, when a Swaraj Mazda vehicle was sold to Jayalalitha, then a MLA, for Rs 1.76 lakh. She also purchased a Swaraj Mazda bus chassis for Rs 2.99 lakh. A salesmanager of a private automobile dealer deposed that he had sold a Contessa Classic car to Jayalalitha on May 24, 1990 for Rs 2.5 lakh. In 1989, Jayalalitha bought two jeeps priced at Rs 1.22 lakh each. In March, 1991 a Swaraj Mazda costing Rs 2.99 lakh bus was purchased in the name of Jaya Publications, in which Jayalalith and Sasikala are partners. During the same period, three Swaraj Mazda bus chassis was sold to Anjaneya Printers for Rs 5.56 lakh. Between 1994-95, Jayalalitha had purchased three vehicles, one for personal use and two for two of her companies at a total cost of nearly Rs ten lakh. The lady, it seems had enough money to buy more than a car at a time. According to a witness, Jayalalitha had paid Rs 4.01 lakh towards a Tata Sierra jeep on July 22, 1992. Meanwhile, a witness claimed that he was yet to receive Rs 2.89 lakh for a Tempo Tracks Town and Country vehicle, which he sold to Sudhakaran during May 1995. Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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