The Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, looking into the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on Tuesday examined her personal assistant S. Poongundran.
Mr. Poongundran has been asked to testify at the Commission again on January 23, after his deposition was interrupted by a power outage. His session lasted for close to 4.5 hours.
Mr. Poongundran left the Kalas Mahal building, which houses the offices of the Commission, without interacting with the waiting journalists. “I cannot talk since this is an Ashtami day,” he said when asked for a comment.
Shortly before Mr. Poongundran left at 3 p.m., riding pillion on a bike, Jayalalithaa’s personal security officer Perumalsamy entered the building. He spent about 10 minutes there and left without interacting with the journalists. A source at the Commission said later that Mr. Perumalsamy, who was due to appear before the Commission on Wednesday, requested a deferment saying he was due to be part of a VIP’s security team: he remains a PSO to the incumbent CM. The Commission granted his request.
On Tuesday, the Commission also examined an individual named Madurai Bala. A source at the Commission said that Mr. Bala, who claimed to be an AIADMK supporter, has been requesting to be examined as a witness. “He admitted he is not an eyewitness; he has only heard certain allegations being made,” said the source. After several petitions, the Commission on Tuesday agreed to record his testimony.
