1,500 policemen for Jayalalithaas security

 BANGALORE: Although it is mandatory that an accused stands while giving statements, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was permitted to sit and answer questions. The co-accused in the case, including her close aide Sashikala, Sudhakaran and Ilavarasan, were standing behind her, a person who witnessed the court proceedings for the entire day, said.On Thursday morning, Jayalalithaa arrived in Bangalore in her own inimitable style. The city faced a temporary paucity of police personnel as 1,500 personnel were deployed to provide security to her when she deposed before the court. The convoy which escorted her to court comprised 20 vehicles.Security around the court hall was tight today and only her legal team and politicians were allowed inside. Mediapersones were stopped at a distance of more than half-a-kilometre away from the court.The TN ministers who were allowed inside the court included K V Ramalingam (PWD), K A Sengottaiyan (Agriculture), Palaniappan (Higher Education), Paneerselwam (Finance), Gokula Indira (Tourism), Senthamizhan (Information), S P Velu Mani (Industries), Krishnamurthy (Commercial Tax), Budhi Chandiran (Food and Civil Supplies), Vishwanathan (Power), in addition to more than 25 MLAs and MPs.More than 25 advocates who came from Chennai were allowed inside the court. Jayalalithaa neither interacted with her lawyers nor with the media.Despite public safety being compromised as about 1,500 police personnel were deployed to provide security to Jayalalithaa, it was a matter of prestige for the city police.Several police stations across the city were empty due to security cover for major events, such as inaugural of the Bangalore Metro. Regular operations were hampered as police officers had to postpone their duties. “We were zeroing in on the accused of a multi-crore fraud case and they have to be nabbed before they flee the city; due to this duty, we had to postpone our operations,” a police officer said.