Jayalalithaa died a day before it was officially announced, claims Sasikala's brother

Amid inquiry into the circumstances surrounding J Jayalalithaa's death, her jailed aide VK Sasikala's brother Dhivakaran today said that the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister passed away on December 4, 2016, a day before the official announcement.

Dhivakaran said the announcement of her death was delayed on the insistence of Apollo Hospital, where she was receiving treatment since September 22, 2016.

"On the day Amma died I left from here. I left on the night of 4th itself. Amma died correctly on 4th evening at 5:15 pm after suffering a massive heart attack. After that she was kept on a machine at Apollo," Dhivakaran said while speaking in his home town of Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu. 

"I asked them…I shouted 'Why have you kept her like that?' Then Reddy (presumably referring to Apollo Hospitals Chairman Dr. Prathap C Reddy) said, 'Our branches'- Apollo has many branches in Tamil Nadu- 'first you have to ensure their safety.' That man said, then only we will declare."

"There was an eagle sitting there from the Central government. It wanted to get the Chief Minister post and go. Is it a hen's egg to pick it up and give? I shouldn't say the name (of the person). He has gone to a senior post so I should not reveal the name. I will be criticised," he further said, according to a report by The News Minute. 

Jayalalithaa was declared dead on December 5 and AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam was hurriedly sworn in as the new Chief Minister in a midnight ceremony. 

Following Jayalalithaa's death, suspicion over the circumstances leading to her demise was raised by several persons.

The Tamil Nadu government has formed a one-man inquiry commission, headed by retired Madras High Court Justice A Arumughaswamy, to probe the circumstances leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa on September 22, 2016 and treatment provided till her demise. 

Last month, a video purportedly showing Jayalalithaa in a hospital was released just before the RK Nagar Assembly bypoll. The role of Sasikala's nephew, TTV Dhinakaran, was suspected in the release of the video. 

He, however, had denied his role saying he was "disappointed" over his key aide P Vetrivel releasing it.

"It is a private video...shot by Chinnamma (Sasikala) on the request of Amma (Jayalalithaa) who wanted to know how she looked," he told reporters here.

Dhinakaran said the video was shot in November 2016.