Sasikala's nephew TTV Dhinakaran said that he did not know on what basis Dhivakaran made such a claim
Jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala's brother Dhivakaran on Wednesday stirred a new controversy over former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death by claiming that she had passed away on December 4, 2016 at 5.15 pm itself and the announcement was made only next day on the insistence of Apollo Hospital.
"Amma died correctly on December 4 at 5.15 pm after suffering a massive heart attack. After that she was kept on a machine at Apollo. I asked them…I shouted 'Why have you kept her like that?' Then Reddy said, "We have many branches of Apollo in the state and you first ensure its safety. Only then we will declare," Dhivakaran said while addressing AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran's birth anniversary meeting at Manargudi.
Jayalaithaa's death was declared to the general public and media on the night of December 5, 2016. Following her death, O Panneerselvam was hurriedly sworn-in as the Chief Minister of the state on the wee hours of December 6.
Sasikala's nephew TTV Dhinakaran said that he did not know on what basis Dhivakaran made such a claim. "I went to the hospital on December 4 at around 7 pm after hearing Amma suffered cardiac arrest. I was told the doctors have put her on life supporting device ECMO. She was declared dead next day by the doctors," he said, noting that only the doctors could declare the death of a patient.
In the 12-page treatment summary of the Apollo Hospital which provides in detail the timeline of treatment given to Jayalalithaa from time of admission on September 22 and till her death on December 5, the hospital said that on December 4,2016, at about 4.20 pm while watching TV in the presence of nurses, duty doctor and family members in the room, Jayalalithaa complained of worsening breathlessness. It said that she had suffered a cardiac arrest and was put on life support device called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation).
"A team of doctors, including experts from Apollo and AIIMS assessed the situation. It was clinically concluded that there was no heart function and there was also no neurological improvement denoting futility of life support. This was informed to senior ministers including O Panneerselvam and Dr Vijayabhaskar, Ms Sasikala, and Government Officials including the chief secretary. All of them understood the situation and asked the medical team to act as per the standard protocol," Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said in a press release issued on March 6 last year. He noted that Jayalalithaa passed away at 11.30 PM on December 5.
Tamil Nadu government has set up an enquiry commission headed by retired judge Arumugasamy to probe the circumstances leading to her hospitalisation and subsequent treatment provided until her death. In the run-up to the December 21 bypoll to the RK Nagar assembly seat last year, Dhinakaran's close aide Ventrivel released a 20-second video purportedly showing Jayalalithaa watching a TV sitting in the hospital bed.
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