In a startling development, an inquiry committee led by former Madras High Court judge A Arumughaswamy, probing into the death of J Jayalalithaa, has officially charged the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s close associate VK Sasikala, her private doctor Dr K S Sivakumar, former health secretary J Radhakrishnan and then health minister C Vijayabaskar, reported The Indian Express.

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The report of the committee, which was set up in 2017 soon after the AIADMK supremo’s death, on Tuesday was presented on floor of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. The report further stressed on the need to investigate the alleged delay in performing the valve surgery and the angio treatment. It held the Chairman of Apollo Hospitals, Pratap C Reddy, of withholding vital information regarding the former CM’s health to the public, reported IE.  

Stating that she had admitted Jayalalithaa on time, the committee cleared Sasikala of several accusations levelled against her in connection with the alleged delay in hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa. However, the committee blamed the late CM’s doctor, who is related to Sasikala, Radhakrishnan and Vijayabaskar over several lapses in the decision-making process, , according to IE.

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Contradicting a November 2016 interview given by the Apollo Chairman Reddy, where he told that the condition of Jayalalithaa was stable at that point, the committee stated that his words were “far beyond the truth” and wondered whether Reddy was giving a “false” impression of the late CM’s health condition to the public under any pressure, reported IE. “But the truth, as revealed by the medical records and evidence of the doctors discussed in this report very elaborately, was absolutely otherwise,” the panel said, as reported by IE.

The report further claimed that Dr Babu Abraham, who was in charge of the late CM’s treatment, had postponed the angio/surgery and recommended that his role in this be further probed, IE reported.