Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 18: J Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016 after being admitted to a top Chennai hospital should be investigated, a former judge has concluded in a lengthy report. Arumugasamy Inquiry Committee’s report tabled in Tamil Nadu assembl on Tuesday which slams at least one top government official and VK Sasikala, the close aide of the politician who lived with her.
When Jayalalithaa’s party, the AIADMK, ruled Tamil Nadu in 2017, a commission of inquiry headed by former Madras High Court judge A Arumughaswamy was established to sort through legal claims, conflicting accounts of Jayalalithaa’s illness and treatment at Apollo Hospital, and conspiracy theories.
The DMK maintained its election vow to make sure the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa’s death was thoroughly examined when it assumed control of the state in 2021.
The report of Justice Arumughaswamy was delivered to the government in August.
Arumugasamy Inquiry Committee concludes that VK Sasikala, J Jayalalithaa's doctor KS Sivakumar, the then Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and former Health Minister C Vijayabaskar have been found to be at fault and an investigation is to be ordered.#TamilNadu
— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2022
The administration presented the report to the Tamil Nadu assembly today. It claims that Chief Secretary Dr. Rama Mohana Rao, the top official at the time of Jayalalithaa’s death, committed crimes. The study also accuses former Health Minister Vijaya Baskar of making misleading comments about Jayalalithaa’s condition and Apollo Chairman Dr. Pratap Reddy.
“The date of death (of former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa) has been declared by hospital as 5.12.2016 as 11.30 pm but it is on 4.12.2016 between 3.00 pm and 3.50 pm on the basis of the evidence,” Arumugasamy Inquiry Committee’s report reads.
One of Tamil Nadu’s most charismatic and powerful leaders, Jayalalithaa, held the position of chief minister for four terms. She was a former actress who was adored by AIADMK cadre as Tamil Nadu’s “Amma,” but in the later half of her career, she was dogged by suspicions of corruption.
