Doctors see Sai Baba sinking fast

AP govt wants more transparency on godmans medical condition

At the same time, Andhra Pradesh government representatives directed members on the Sathya Sai Central Trust to make their stand clear on allegations appearing in a section of the local media since the day the Sai Baba was shifted to the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences. The government also wanted Prashanti Nilayam employees to come clean on queries from the Baba’s devotees on his medical condition.

The Sai Baba’s health deteriorated further on Thursday with the response from most of his vital organs “very poor” and his liver not functioning at all. His blood pressure, of great concern to the doctors, dropped drastically.

According to Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences sources, his BP dropped to 100/55. “His BP was fluctuating over the last couple of days but had never dropped to this level,” they said.

This, the doctors said, was an indication that his heart was “quite weak”. In an official note, hospital Director A N Safaya said: “Sai Baba continues to be in a very critical state of health…The parameters of functioning of various organs  are also very erratic.”

Confirming that the response of the vital organs was very poor, Safaya said: “Doctors are continuing vigorous efforts to make the vital organs recommence their functions.”

Every attempt, he said, was being made to keep the vital parameters in the normal limits by administering the appropriate drugs.The doctors have successfully conducted a haemodialysis in the last 12 hours and it will be repeated as the need arises. The sense of hope that was apparent in their official statements and press briefings had begun to fade over the last few days and, on Thursday, it was more or less missing.

In line with the doctors’ concerns, Ananthpur District Collector Janardhan Reddy said “the police force has been alerted to be prepared for all eventualities.” Police sources told Deccan Herald that forces from Chittor, Kurnool and Ananthpur Districts were being roped in for deployment in Puttaparthi. “Given that there is an Assembly bye-poll in neighbouring Kadapa district, all police personnel, barring a sentry each at the railway station in Ananthpur, are being deployed at Puttaparthi as policemen from Kadapa cannot be deployed,” a circle inspector said.

Several meetings involving senior officers, including Ananthpur DIG Sharu Sinha and Superintendent of Police Shah Nawaz Kasim, were held in Puttaparthi. P M Arun Kumar, a police officer from Ananthpur, just before entering a meeting in Prashanthi Nilayam, told Deccan Herald that the policemen were briefed on the various structures in Puttaparthi.

Displaying maps of important installations like the airport, Prashanti Nilayam, Sai superspeciality hospital and schools, Arun Kumar said: “All of us are being briefed about the various entry and exit points at these locations.”

In Hyderabad, state Revenue Minister Raghuveera Reddy, who held discussions with doctors treating Baba, said that the godman’s condition was highly critical and doctors were working overtime to reverse the trend. “The doctors are making last ditch efforts to revive him,” the minister, who hails from Ananthapur, said. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy convened a high-level meeting with Director-General of Police Arvind Rao and Chief Secretary S V Prasad to discuss the emerging situation.

Sri Sathya Sai Devotees Forum members in Hyderabad refuted allegations of misdeeds by the Trust and expressed hope that the Baba would “surmount this ordeal and come back to live yet another decade”. Former Andhra Pradesh DGP V Appa Rao, a devotee, said at a press conference that no truckloads of gold and silver were moved out to Bangalore.

Financial wizard and First Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in AP, P Ramagopal, said devotees like him stand as witness for all the monetary transactions which are done directly under the guidance of Baba and no one else could be involved in the task. But AP minister Geetha Reddy and Principal Secretary (Finance) L V Subramanyam met the Trust members on Thursday and sources told Deccan Herald that the meeting’s agenda included greater transparency on the part of the Trust.