No foul play in Jayalalithaa’s death, says Deepak before death probe panel

Sasikala’s aide Karthikeyan, Jayalalithaa’s assistant Poongundran, IAS officer Ramalingam and Jayalalithaa’s nephew Deepak appeared before the commission on Saturday.

Speaking after the cross-examination, Sasikala’s counsel Raja Senthoor Pandian said that the statements from Ramalingam and Deepak indicate that Jayalalithaa had been cared for by Sasikala.

He said that Ramalingam had stated that Sasikala was by the side of the ailing chief minister through the 75 days of her hospitalisation. Jayalalithaa’s nephew Deepak said that he had been asked around 20 questions during the cross-examination that lasted for an hour. He said that he did not suspect any foul play in Jayalalithaa’s death.

Raja Senthoor Pandian expressed shock that audio and other evidence such as Jayalalithaa’s diet log that had been submitted to the inquiry commission had been shared with the media. The evidence submitted as part of Dr Sivakumar’s cross-examination that contained three recordings and two pages of Jayalalithaa’s daily diet before her illness was widely shared.

The one-man inquiry commission has sent summons to two doctors and two nurses who cared for Jayalalithaa. Dr Archana and nurse Renuka have been asked to appear on June 5. Dr Prasanna and nurse Sheela are set to depose before the commission on June 6.