The Justice Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry that probed into the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has “found fault” with her close aide and confidante VK Sasikala, calling her responsible for events leading to Jayalalithaa’s death. The commission, in its report which was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday, October 18, has asked the Tamil Nadu government to initiate a probe. According to the Commission, Jayalalithaa did not receive proper treatment in the months prior to September 2016, when she was admitted to Apollo hospital in Chennai. It then goes on to say that Sasikala, Former Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Former Health Secretary J Radhakrishanan and Jayalalithaa’s personal doctor K S Sivakumar and doctors at Apollo kept the treatment secret and chose not to perform a surgery on Jayalalithaa.
Though the Justice Arumughaswamy Commission has not unearthed any conspiracy in its final report, it has relied upon a Tehelka magazine article from 2011 alleging that VK Sasikala and her family members indulged in a conspiracy against J Jayalalithaa.
The commission has traced the circumstances in 2011 which led to an estrangement between the duo and Jayalalithaa had asked Sasikala to leave her home. “This development entailed a serious setback in the relationship between the two that led to an embitterment of feelings and consequential estrangement.” Though Jayalalithaa ousted Sasikala in December 2011, she was brought back in March 2012. The Commission says that though Jayalalithaa brought back Sasikala and told her to keep her family away, there was “simmering discontent” in Sasikala.
The commission has said that when Jayalalithaa was unwell in 2015, proper course of treatment was not adopted by Dr Sivakumar, who is also the son-in-law of VK Sasikala’s brother. The Commission does not, however, get into further details. The report says that Sasikala and Apollo hospital kept the whole line of treatment shrouded in secrecy. “There was a lack of transparency, as much as there was no authentic and reliable disclosure of facts pertaining to her exact health condition and the course of treatment,” the report said.
The commission further alleged that Jayalalithaa herself was kept in the dark about her health condition. “A scrutiny of the testimony of the witnesses examined by this Commission would only reveal that when the patient was conscious and had her faculties intact, she was not informed of the health issues she was facing and the treatment protocol that was to be adopted.” The Commision says that O Panneerselvam, the Chief Minister in charge, cabinet colleague and officials were not taken into confidence.
At another point, the report mentioned that the then Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, former Health Minister Vijayabhaskar and the then Chief Secretary knew the entire treatment protocol.
The commission went on to allege that Sasikala was cautious at the hospital, however she and Apollo doctors ‘ensured’ that an angiogram and a surgery was not done.
“Even for small heart vegetation, angio/surgery was not done, though it was made to appear that they have taken efforts to summon outside doctors, who suggested an angio procedure and advised for early valve surgery. Only to convince them, all these doctors had been hosted by Apollo hospital. If they really had the genuine intention, to verify her health condition, they could have deputed one Thoracic surgeon also and got an opinion from him and proceeded with treatment accordingly. This million dollar question remains unanswered,” it said.
The Commission has also ordered investigation against Dr Y V C Reddy and Dr Babu Abraham who treated the late Chief Minister and sought opinions from doctors from UK, USA and Mumbai. “The doctors suggested angio/surgery, they (Dr YVC Reddy and Dr Babu Abraham) successfully threw it to wind on the pretext of postponing it, to achieve their aim under some pressure.” However, the commission fails to explain further.
Watch: Did Arumughaswamy report on Jayalalithaa draw conclusions based on evidence?