Chennai: In a clandestine move, the Tamilnadu government has initiated the process of confiscating properties attached to the disproportionate assets (DA) case against former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and three others in compliance with the trial court order that was upheld by the Supreme Court in February.

Collectors of six districts, including Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur, have been instructed to take physical possession of 68 properties registered in the name of six firms owned by Jayalalithaa and her aide V K Sasikala, and Sasikala’s relatives J Elavarasi and V N Sudhakaran.The latter three are in jail.

Reasons are unknown regarding the confi scation though, as 128 properties were actually attached in the case. The action has been initiated by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), which is the prosecuting agency in the case.

The director wrote to the collectors marking a copy to the State Vigilance Commissioner to confiscate the properties. Though the properties include those in Chennai, it is to be noted that the Poes Garden residence of the AIADMK supremo is not part of the list of properties to be confiscated.