A professor at the Cardio-Thoracic Sciences Centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Wednesday told the Commission of Inquiry looking into the death of Jayalalithaa that he had independently examined the former Chief Minister for signs of life one-and-a-half hours before she was declared dead.
Multiple sources said that V. Devagourou, who appeared as a witness, told the Justice A. Arumughaswamy (retired) Commission that had had reached Apollo Hospitals on December 5, 2016. Jayalalithaa was on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation device after having suffered a cardiac arrest the previous evening.
Dr. Devagourou said that he had seen the former Chief Minister at 5 p.m. She had been placed on therapeutic hypothermia to reduce brain damage.
Dr. Devagourou requested that Jayalalithaa be brought to normal temperature.
After waiting for the effect of the medicines to wear off, the doctor performed an independent assessment to check for signs of life.
The doctor said that following his assessment, doctors of Apollo Hospital took the decision to consult the patient’s family — including V.K. Sasikala — on the removal of the ECMO device. N. Raja Senthoor Pandian, lawyer for Sasikala, told journalists that the doctor had said that Jayalalithaa had died at 11.30 p.m. on December 5, when the ECMO device was disconnected.
Dr. Devagourou also told the Commission that Jayalalithaa had no significant Coronary Artery Disease. He said that she did not need any cardiac intervention, including an angiogram.
A source said that Dr. Devagourou had said that one of the two growths — “vegetations” — observed in the CM’s heart had calcified.
Peter Craig-Jones, who maintains that the Kodanad tea estate in the Nilgiris was wrested from him forcibly by Sasikala, appeared before the Commission on Tuesday.
Mr. Pandian said that he had objected to Mr. Craig-Jones’ testimony. Consequently, Mr. Pandian refused to cross-examine Mr. Jones. His examination was recorded by Justice Arumughaswamy. Mr. Pandian later said that Mr. Craig-Jones had said that he had sold his property to an individual other than Jayalalithaa and Sasikala; he informed the Commission that he did not have any information to provide about the hospitalisation and death of Jayalalithaa.
Apollo files application
Apollo Hospitals on Wednesday filed an application before the Commission, requesting that the documents it submitted before it should be safeguarded. Apollo Hospitals informed the Commission that the documents it submitted were given only to the Commission's office; copies were not served to any parties before the Commission.
Apollo Hospital's application was filed a day after the leak of its bill summary for Jayalalithaa's treatment.
