Jaya's death mystery deepens

The mystery surrounding hospitalisation and subsequent death of the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa seems to be growing with each passing day. Tamil Nadu's intelligence chief K N Sathiyamoorthy has deposed before the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission that he was not aware of the details of those who visited Jayalalithaa during her 75-day stay at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai.

Sathiyamoorthy, who was handpicked by Jayalalithaa for the crucial job, told the Commission on Thursday that no log of visitors was maintained on the second floor of the hospital where Jayalalithaa was admitted. Apollo Hospitals Chairman Prathap C Reddy had said in March that all CCTV cameras on the second floor, where the ICU was located, were switched off.

On Thursday, Sathiyamurthy, while indirectly acknowledging that the CCTV cameras were switched off, told the Commission that he was not aware on whose instructions the security cameras were removed or switched off.

The intelligence chief's comments assume significance since the entire second floor was under the control of the police force from September 12 to December 5, 2016 – the day Jayalalithaa breathed her last.

Sources said the top police officer told the Commission that no escort vehicle accompanied the ambulance that transported Jayalalithaa to Apollo Hospitals. “He also told the Commission that he was not aware of those who met Jayalalithaa during her stay in the hospital,” he said.

Officials who had worked with Jayalalithaa have been contradicting each other on who met Jayalalithaa during the 75-day hospital stay.