After murder case verdict, disquiet at MGR estate

Chennai: On January 17, 2008, when AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa visited the Ramapuram Gardens, residence of her mentor and former chief minister MG Ramachandran, a man decked in a red shirt was in the thick of making arrangements for the VIP's arrival.
The man, Vijayan, was the husband of MGR's niece and foster daughter Sudha, one of the residents of the historic bungalow on the estate.Vijayan was murdered six months later. After eight years, Sudha's sister is one of the seven who have been given life imprisonment for plotting the crime.
The estate and the properties of MGR and his extended family continue to be at the centre of a sibling rivalry. Known for his generosity, MGR willed 99% of his property to the hearing and speech imparied, and bequeathed the estate to Sudha and two of her siblings.
MGR was childless; he had taken the six children of his wife Janaki Ramachandran's brother Narayanan under his wings. While Rajendran, husband of Narayanan's first daughter Latha, was the executor of MGR's will; the next three, Geetha , Sudha and Janaki, were formally adopted by MGR. The last three children were Deepan alias Rajan, Banu and Dr Manu. Narayanan owned properties including schools, houses, trusts and land, thanks to MGR's generosity and magnanimity.
It was a dispute over one of Narayanan's properties that ultimately motivated Banu to plot Vijayan's murder. A day after the verdict, there was a sense of disquiet at the 'Thottam', as the estate is called. Remembrance pictures of Vijayan were stuck on the walls of the house. The 6.5-acre estate also houses a school for the deaf and mute.
Sources close to the family say that Banu plotted Vijayan's murder as he was the brain behind Deepan, the sole trustee of the Janaki Ramachandran Memorial Trust which manages the six schools Narayanan built.
The sisters living in the bungalow rarely interact with each other. Family sources say they are divided into two groups. This was evident to reporters who were at the estate in 2008 during Jayalalithaa's visit; families of the three siblings were talking separately to reporters.
The bitter rivalry was not something MGR might have envisaged; one sibling recalled how MGR insisted that all the children should sit together for meals every day and share food. A strict disciplinarian, he also ensured that they concentrated on studies and sports. People close to the family say each sibling has properties worth many crores bequeathed to them; by their biological father and the adoptive father. "Every daughter is a principal of one prestigious school. Deepan is still the sole trustee. The family owns prime land in almost all posh localities of Chennai. Yet, for total control, there is so much bad blood," says an advocate conversant with the case.
The sentencing of Sudha for murdering her sister's husband may not end of the feud. The estate, the only piece of MGR's property bequeathed to the siblings, is also under litigation. After Rajendran's death, his wife Latha, the eldest daughter of Narayanan, approached court to become the executioner of MGR's will. But it was challenged and she is now only a temporary executioner.