Sasikala granted 15-day parole to attend husband Natarajan's funeral, leaves Bengaluru jail

BENGALURU: Expelled and jailed AIADMK chief VK Sasikala on Tuesday walked out of Bengaluru jail after being granted a 15-day parole to attend the last rites of her husband M Natarajan, who died in the wee hours of Tuesday following multiple organ failures.

Karnataka: VK Sasikala leaves from Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. She has been granted 15-day parole following the demise of her husband Natarajan Maruthappa. pic.twitter.com/e5bkWFFSnG

— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2018

Earlier today, Sasikala applied for parole following her husband's demise in the wee hours of Tuesday. Last week, the 75-year-old was rushed to Gleneagles Global Health City hospital for chest infection.

Following demise of her husband, VK Sasikala granted 15-day parole, leaves from Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. pic.twitter.com/6onpnwPi0q — ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2018

Sasikala, who is currently lodged in Bengaluru's Parappanna Agrahara Jail, is set to travel to Thanjavur directly by road for the funeral.

In January, Natarajan had surrendered before a CBI court here in connection with a case involving evasion of duty on the import of a luxury car from Britain.

The Madras High Court had in November last year upheld a trial court order sentencing Natarajan and three others in the case registered 23 years ago.

In December, the Supreme Court granted bail to Natarajan and asked him to deposit Rs 25 lakh each in its registry. He didn`t appear in the past hearings citing poor health.

Shanmuga Priyan, Chief Operation Officer, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, released a statement, stating that every possible attempt was made to sustain his revival. However, despite their best efforts, he was unable to recover.

Natarajan had also undergone a liver and kidney transplant in 2017.

Sasikala is currently serving a four-year imprisonment and is lodged in central prison in Bengaluru in a disproportionate assets case. She was sent to Parappana Agrahara central prison in February last year.