A decade after the controversial purchase which eventually led to her unseating as Chief Minister, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa has returned over three acres of land to the state-owned Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (Tansi).The land was purchased by two companies in which Jayalalithaa and her close associate Sasikala were partners for Rs. 1.68 crore in 1992, when Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister, sparking charges that it was sold for a lower price. The land was registered again in the name of Tansi by a city sub-registrar office yesterday following a Government Order, clearing the way for the return of the property, official sources said.In November, city court of small causes had lifted attachment of the property on a petition by Sasikala to clear way for restoration of the land purchased by Jaya Publications and Sasi Enterprises to Tansi.A special court had convicted Jayalalithaa and Sasikala for ’irregularities in the purchases’ and sentenced her to three years imprisonment, resulting in her disqualification from contesting the may 2001 Assembly polls, which the aiadmk won with a thumping majority.
