Jayalalithaa was brought to Apollo in breathless state: Top official

Chennai, December 16

The late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was brought to Apollo Hospital in a “breathless state” on September 22 last year and those she approved were beside her during her treatment there, said a top hospital official.

The AIADMK supremo spent 75 days in the hospital before breathing her last on December 5 last year.

“She (Jayalalithaa) was brought to the hospital in a breathless state, was given adequate treatment and recovered from it,” Apollo Hospitals vice-chairperson Preetha Reddy told a private Tamil channel in New Delhi in reply to a question.

“Unfortunately, you know the outcome at the end was not what everybody was looking for. And that is the hand of fate, which I don’t think anyone can do anything about it,” she said.

To another query on the controversy raked up by some persons on the circumstances leading to her death, Reddy said the hospital treated her with best clinicians from New Delhi as well as from abroad.

“See, I think the hospital has done its best. We have the best clinicians from (New) Delhi, from AIIMS, from abroad within this system,” she said.

“There is an enquiry and I think that is the best thing that has been done. Let them go through the data.... I think all the mysteries will then be solved,” she said.

It may be recalled that the one man inquiry commission, headed by retired Justice A Arumughasamy, appointed by the Tamil Nadu government to probe the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death, has already commenced the enquiry.

Asked who was beside Jayalalithaa when she was treated, Reddy said people who were required and approved by her (Jayalalithaa) were by her bedside during treatment.    

“So were all the doctors from all over the world, qualified nurses, technicians and physiotherapists from Singapore (who could be made available)."     

To a query on whether Jayalalithaa was aware of her fingerprint being taken, Reddy said, “I can't answer that question because I was not by her bedside.”

It has been alleged that Jayalalithaa's fingerprint was affixed on the papers authorising the candidature of AIADMK candidates for the then bypolls. PTI