Deepa Jayakumar

Bengaluru

Deepa

Sasikala

Tamil Nadu

AIADMK

Amrutha S

Amrutha

Shylaja

Mirror

Congress

Rahul Gandhi

Apollo Hospital

Jaya

Poes Garden

Kannada

has been unreachable since Monday, claims her cousin inChennai may still be sniffling since Amma’s demise, but the turf war has already begun. In a startling development, Jayalalithaa’s niece,Jayakumar, is reportedly missing. Deepa had been vocal in her dislike for, the lateChief Minister’s close associate and an influential person in theparty.Jaya’s relatives, in fact, had been upset by the alleged high-handedness of the ‘Mannargudi family’ led by Sasikala.Deepa’s cousin(35) had joined the chorus saying her aunt’s property and power were being hijacked by Sasikala and her supporters. It waswho reported that Deepa had gone missing and she had not been able to trace her since Monday.Amrutha, who lives in Bengaluru and is the daughter of Jaya’s late sister,, told: “Deepa and I have been in touch for a long time, and more so since my aunt was hospitalised. After Deepa went on record with her opinion on Sasikala, we decided to meet and take the issue forward. She had invited me to her residence in Chennai for the discussion.”Amrutha said she had gone to Chennai on Monday, but couldn’t find Deepa. “Her house was locked and her maid wasn’t around either. I have been trying to call her since Monday, but her phone is not reachable. I am really scared for Deepa after her daring outbursts against Sasikala. I just hope she is safe,” said Amrutha.ABOUT THE SECRECYTalking to Mirror about the secrecy and intrigue around the late AIADMK chief’s hospitalisation prior to the heart attack that claimed her life, Amrutha expressed cluelessness on the logic of doing this. “We don’t know what her illness was and what treatment she was offered. Even whenleaderwent to, he was denied permission to see her. I too have experienced the high-handedness of Sasikala and her coterie when I went to the hospital. I was stopped at the gate by cops and was never allowed in.”“Something looks fishy,” said Amrutha, who expressed regret over the fact that nobody could seewhile she was at the hospital. “There are reports that Sasikala made Jaya sign on blank sheets. I want to ask Sasikala why she did that. I don’t need anything except justice for my aunt,” she said.Amrutha claimed she met Jaya three times between 1996 and 1998. Earlier, she used to visit Jaya at herresidence. But after Sasikala moved in, Jaya preferred to meet her relatives only at the secretariat, she said.Amrutha also recalled how Jaya did not want the public to know about her familial relationships. This was perhaps the reason why she never acknowledged her relationship with Amrutha’s mother, Shylaja, she said, adding that her aunt was upset with her family for coming out about it in public.Amrutha said that Jaya sent this message through an official that her relatives should not talk to the media. Shylaja died in 2015.“I cannot forget the last conversation I had with my aunt. It was in June 2014 and as usual we spoke in. She had said, ‘I have so many followers, yet I feel very lonely’,” said Amrutha.