India News | Jaya Death Panel's Inquiry Over, Stage Set for Submission of Report to TN Govt

Chennai, Apr 26 (PTI) The inquiry by a commission probing the circumstances surrounding late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's death culminated on Tuesday, nearly four and a half years after it was constituted by the state government.

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The proceedings before the panel, the inquiry have all been completed as per the terms of reference, official sources said.

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On Tuesday, former AIADMK spokesperson V Pugazhenthi appeared before the panel and made his submissions and reportedly he had requested that former Chief Minister K Palaniswami should be inquired. However, commission sources did not confirm it. Pugazhenthi was expelled from the AIADMK last year.

In total, 159 witnesses have deposed before the commission, which includes AIADMK top leader O Panneerselvam, Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa and nephew Deepak, doctors, top officials and AIADMK's C Vijayabaskar, M Thambi Durai, C Ponnaiyan and Manoj Pandian.

Deepa and Deepak had raised doubts over circumstances surrounding their aunt's death. V K Sasikala, confidante of the late Chief Minister had filed an affidavit through her counsel in 2018.

The Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, constituted by the previous AIADMK government, commenced it's hearing on November 22, 2017. Justice Arumughaswamy is a retired judge of the Madras High Court.

Sasikala's affidavit was related to, among other points, the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation (admitted in Apollo Hospitals) in 2016.

During the recent proceedings, doctors from the Apollo Hospitals briefed through video-conferencing a medical board of AIIMS-Delhi specialists on the treatment provided to Jayalalithaa. The AIIMS panel took part in the proceedings virtually to help the Commission handle medical aspects as per the Supreme Court's direction.

According to sources, the Commission is set to commence preparation of its report for submission to the state government as its tenure, which was extended several times, is set to end on June 24. The government instituted the commission in September 2017. The terms of reference was "to inquire into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of the late Chief Minister on 22 September 2016 and subsequent treatment provided till her unfortunate demise on 5 December 2016."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)