Chennai: The Justice Arumughaswamy Commission probing the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has released an audio clip of her conversation with medical staff in her Apollo hospital room as well as some elaborate diary jottings listing out her food and medicines while at home. The selective media ‘leak’, allegedly by the Commission secretary, on Saturday triggered angry response from Opposition DMK leader M.K.Stalin, as well as V.K. Sasikala’s counsel Raja Senthoor Pandian questioning the timing of the ‘leak’ and alleging it was done to “divert public attention from the brutal police firing in Thoothukudi” that killed 13protesters.
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Sources said the diary documents of Jayalalithaa were handed over to Arumughaswamy Commission by Sasikala’s nephew Dr Shivakumar who had been treating the former CM for quite some time, until she was rushed in ambulance to Apollo in a semi-conscious state on the night of September 22, 2016. She died of cardiac arrest on December 5.
The Jayalalithaa note, which sources insisted was in her own handwriting, begins with an elaborate Pillaiyar Chuzhi on August 2, 2016, and charts her diet and drugs from 4.55 a.m. till 7.15 pm. It starts with recording her weight (106.9 kg) and the blood sugar readings by the glucometer. The breakfast between 5.05 and 5.35 comprised one and a half idlis, four slices of bread, 400 ml of coffee and 230 ml of coconut water.
This is followed by 200 ml of green tea at 5.45 a.m. There is Revive drink of 200 ml at about 8 am, an apple at 8.55 am and 120 ml of coffee at 9.40 am, besides five Bourbon biscuits.
The diary leaves, which carried the official seal of the Arumughaswamy Commission, also showed details of Jayalalithaa's lunch and dinner, again in her own handwriting. One cup of Basmathi rice at 11.35 am, lunch during 2-2.35 pm consisting of Basmati rice (1-1/2 cups), yogurt (1 cup) and musk melon (1/2 bowl); followed by diabetes medicine Januvia (50 mg) at 2.45 pm. Coffee (200 ml) was served at 5.45 pm.
Dinner between 6.30 and 7.15 pm comprised Idli Upma (1 cup), dosai (1), bread (2 slices) and milk (200 ml). Diabetes drug Mignar (25 mg) was taken with food and Januvia (50 mg) at 7.25 pm.
In the 52-minute audio clip, Jayalalithaa was heard pulling up a doctor for not reporting when she had called earlier for taking her test. She also jocularly commented that the blood pressure recording equipment was making noise that quite sounded like the whistles heard from the front rows in a cinema theatre. She was also heard coughing repeatedly.
On being told that her blood pressure was 140, Jayalalithaa asked: "By?" (meaning diastolic reading). The nurse replied it was 80, to which the former CM responded: "It's OK. Normal for me".
DMK working president Stalin has come out strongly against the Commission releasing the audio clip and the diary pages and alleged it was done only to divert public attention from the brutal police action in Thoothukudi. Sasikala's counsel Raja Senthoor Pandian echoed the same doubt. He also insisted that the released audio clip as well as the diary notes have "completely demolished" the allegations made in certain quarters that Jayalalithaa had been abused and assaulted before being rushed to the hospital in a bad shape.
The audio recording was dated September 27, less than a week after her admission, and she was heard speaking casually, even jocularly to the hospital staff. Further, the diary jottings of her food, blood-sugar/BP readings and weight, were done in her own handwriting so that she could show them to her doctors visiting her for proper advice. Dr Shivakumar had those books and marked them for evidence with the Commission, counsel Pandian told DC.
He said during his cross-examination of former state chief secretary Ram Mohan Rao, he was told that the official was coordinating the Cauvery issue with Jayalalithaa during September 22-27 and she had even spoken to him from the ICU when he was in Delhi. Rao also told him in the cross-examination that Jayalalithaa was disturbed by reports and rumours suggesting that she was badly treated (by Sasikala) before her admission to Apollo, so she wanted a meeting with her secretaries, which was arranged. "Following that meeting, the hospital released a press statement," counsel Pandian said, insisting that Jayalalithaa was improving until she had breathing problem during the night of September 27 and was put on ventilator the following day. A team of AIIMS doctors saw her on October 6 and advised it was not good to keep her on ventilator for too long as that would lead to infections and so she was taken off the ventilator and tracheotomy was done.
"Again, the AIIMS doctors were interacting with her for about 20 minutes on December 3 and said she only needed physiotherapy to strengthen her legs and there was no problem with her heart. But she suffered cardiac arrest on December 4 and was declared dead the following night after attempts to revive her failed", he said.
Counsel Pandian said Jayalalithaa had developed health issues ever since she was jailed in 2014 and needed treatment for various ailments. She was being constantly monitored and well taken care of during the entire period until her sad demise despite the best efforts, he said.
