Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa gets 4 years in jail for graft

In addition to the jail sentence, the court fined Jayalalithaa 250 million rupees, in a 1996-case of amassing a fortune of 660 million rupees at a time when she was taking a token 1 rupee as salary.

A charismatic former actress who later joined politics and became the top elected official in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu was sentenced on Saturday to four years in jail after a court found her guilty of corruption in a case filed 18 years ago.

Jayaram Jayalalithaa will have to step down as chief minister of Tamil Nadu after the court in Bangalore found her guilty of possessing wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income. She also will be disqualified from contesting elections for six years.

In addition to the jail sentence, the court fined Jayalalithaa 250 million rupees ($4.7 million). She will seek bail from a higher court, the prosecutor’s office said.

Indian politicians are rarely convicted for corruption, and even more rarely end up spending time in jail. Jayalalitha’s supporters say the case is a political conspiracy to discredit her.

Security was tight outside the court, with more than 5,000 police officers and paramilitary troops throwing a security cordon around the building. Roads were blocked 2 kilometres from the court to keep away Jayalalithaa’s supporters, who threatened to hold protests against the verdict.

Across Tamil Nadu, shopkeepers closed their stores and police were on alert, as Jayalalithaa’s followers gathered outside her home in the heart of Chennai city. However, there were no immediate reports of violence.

Jayalalithaa, 66, was accused in 1996 of amassing a fortune of 660 million rupees ($11 million) at a time when she was taking a token 1 rupee as her monthly salary.

Jayalalithaa joined politics in the early 1980s after a successful film career in southern India that included appearances in nearly 150 movies. She has had three stints as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, including her latest one, which began in May 2011.