A special team of police arrested C Dhanabal, 44, the elder brother of Kanagaraj, who was killed in a road mishap under mysterious circumstances in Salem, and his relative R Ramesh, 34 on charges of attempting to destroy evidence and influence the witnesses in the accident case.

The arrest came days after the duo were quizzed by a special team led by Salem range DIG S Maheswari. Kanagaraj died in a road mishap near Attur in April 2017 on the Salem-Ulundurpet highway, when he made a right turn towards a service lane in his two-wheeler.

The inquiry into the Kodanad case gained significance after C Dhanabal had allegedly raised suspicion during the initial stages of the case by pointing to the role of an AIADMK leader in the high-profile case. He also appeared before police in the Nilgiris and claimed foul play in the death of his brother. However his arrest has come as an unexpected twist in the case.

On the night of 23 April, 2017, a heavily armed gang broke into the Kodanad estate bungalow of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa following her demise and looted valuables after murdering the security guard.

Both the accused were produced in a court in Gudalur and remanded in judicial custody till 8 November.