Machibet777 AffiliateJayalalithaa: Explained: Why Sasikala has been linked to Jayalalithaa's death

That former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa lived in the full glare of the public gaze is a fact. Naturally enough, her death too was closely scrutinised. Conspiracy theories flew thick and fast from the time news broke that she had been hospitalised, and by the time her death was announced, everyone from her house help to the Central Intelligence Agency had been named in one or other theory. There was a pitched political battle surrounding the circumstances of Jayalalithaa’s death, and the government set up a commission of inquiry headed by Justice A Arumughaswamy.The commission recently tabled its report, calling for an investigation against Jayalalithaa’s once-closest aide VK Sasikala, medical doctor KS Sivakumar (Sasikala's relative), the then health secretary J Radhakrishnan, and former health minister C Vijayabaskar. The four have been indicted for a series of omissions leading to Jayalalithaa’s death. medium94966500The report also called for investigation into the role of Dr YVC Reddy and Dr Babu Abraham, who treated the late CM all along. Though doctors from Mumbai, the UK and the US, besides those from Apollo Hospitals, suggested angioplasty or surgery, “they successfully threw it to the wind under the pretext of postponing it, to achieve their aim under some pressure”.The Sasikala storyTamil media, for decades now, has been abuzz with news about Sasikala and wild speculations about the hold she had on Jayalalithaa. Sasikala, say local reports, had used some connections of her husband (who had lost his government job in 1976) to meet Jayalalithaa, who was then a rising star and a very close associate of the charismatic MG Ramachandran. In the troubled days following MGR's death, when Jayalalithaa was sidelined by the party, Sasikala called upon her connections to keep Jaya safe. The friendship between the two only grew stronger after that.Then, in a shocking turn of events, Sasikala and her entire entourage were thrown out of Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden home and party workers were warned to keep them away. A Tehelka report claims that this was because Jayalalithaa discovered a plot by Sasikala to kill her by administering slow poison. Local media reports claim that Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, had warned Jayalalithaa of this and had even offered to send a trustworthy Gujarati nurse to take care of her medical needs. medium94969048The Arumughaswamy Commission said Sasikala’s niece Krishnapriya had deposed that “Jayalalithaa had suspicion on Sasikala and her relatives and because of that she sent them from Poes Garden”. And, there was no cordial relationship between the late CM and Sasikala thereafter.Re-entry of Sasikala in Poes Garden was made possible only after an undertaking in the form of a letter. But once a subdued Sasikala re-entered Jayalalithaa’s world, things began to unravel. medium94966705The hospital sagaIn September 2016, Apollo Hospitals in Chennai issued a statement that Jayalalithaa had been admitted to the hospital with fever and dehydration. A series of bulletins from the hospital in the days following claimed that the CM was recovering. In early October, a detailed hospital bulletin stated that Jayalalithaa’s “treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supportive therapy”.Jayalalithaa was in the critical care unit till early November, when the hospital claimed she was shifted to a private room. The chairman of Apollo Hospitals, Prathap C Reddy, said that she could be discharged at any time. However, Jayalalithaa was still unable to speak and was using a speaking valve, per hospital sources.Video of Jayalalithaa in hospital medium nocaptionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwjBd1prPoEApollo Hospitals, meanwhile, had sought external expert opinion from Dr Richard Beale of the UK. The commission pointed out that despite Beale saying he was prepared to take Jayalalithaa abroad for treatment, it did not happen. In his report on October 1, 2016, Beale had specifically stated the importance of performing coronary angiogram and the possibility of stroke and cardiac failure.“It is evident that till November 25, the late CM was fit for surgery as per their own records, but no thoracic surgeon of the hospital had been allowed to see her during her lifetime,” the report said. US-based cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Samir Sharma examined Jayalalithaa in the hospital on November 25 “when she was conscious”. His opinion was that she had to undergo a lifesaving cardiac surgery in view of the vegetation that had developed in her heart. The decision was reversed under the pretext that Beale had a different opinion, which was not found anywhere in the medical records. “… the reversal decision not to perform the timely angio must have been engineered by Sasikala, who alone had the strategic advantage of influencing the decision”, the report said. Jayalalithaa was deprived of this critical treatment and at a later stage her clinical condition deteriorated, which later led to her unfortunate demise, it said. medium94966977A conspiracy to kill?Once Jayalalithaa was hospitalised, the doctors informed Sasikala about their diagnoses and took instructions from her for treatment. Given that there had been clear advice regarding life-saving treatment, it seems evident that Sasikala chose to ignore this. Meanwhile, reports say that Sasikala’s relatives occupied 10 rooms in the hospital.The commission noted that then governor in-charge C Vidyasagar Rao 'completed' the formalities of visiting hospital thrice and did not mention in his letter to the President that she was in a “critical condition”, even though it was conveyed. The report says that the hospital and its doctors, the then health minister C Vijayabaskar, the then health secretary J Radhakrishnan and her personal physician Sivakumar, all were against taking Jayalalithaa abroad for treatment. Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy gave a false statement to the media that the late chief minister could be discharged at any time despite having full knowledge that it was untrue, the report said. He did not disclose the real fact regarding the heart ailments and the treatment to be given to the late chief minister, the report added, asking the government to investigate. medium94967104Apollo Hospitals prolonged the time of death, knowing well Jayalalithaa was at a point of no return, Justice Arumughaswamy said. The cuts made on her chest to massage the heart (sternotomy) and the CPR exercises were “futile and used as a ploy to explain away the delay in the official declaration of her death”, he said.What happens now?The Arumughaswamy commission has asked the government to investigate several people it has indicted. Meanwhile Sasikala has categorically denied the charges against her. “Those who lacked courage to take on Amma [Jayalalithaa] politically, have resorted to the trivial act of politicising her death. But people will not support such actions,” she said.Prathap Reddy: Jayalalithaa has completely recovered medium nocaptionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qMBHBCqm4UIn the three-page statement, Sasikala said the commission’s findings are based on assumptions. “I have not interfered even once in the treatment given to Amma. It was the medical team that decided on the tests to be done, medicines to be administered and accorded due treatment. All I wanted was to ensure that first class medical care was given to Amma.”It is now up to the state government to act on the commission’s recommendations or to ignore them.With inputs from Pushpa Narayan