Former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday said he did not have any suspicions about Jayalalithaa’s death and he was only reflecting the doubts in the minds of the people when he asked for an enquiry commission to probe the circumstances of her death.
Continuing his deposition for the second day at the (retired) Justice Arumughaswamy Commission, Mr. Panneerselvam also said he still had respect and regard for V.K. Sasikala.
During cross examination, V.K. Sasikala’s lawyer Raja Senthoor Pandian asked a pointed question to Mr. Panneerselvam: “Personally, do you have any doubts about Jayalalithaa’s death?” In response, the former Chief Minister said: “ I personally do not have any doubts about her death. There were doubts in people’s minds that were growing stronger and I merely reflected that.”
When Mr. Pandian asked if it was right that Mr. Panneerselvam had said in a television interview that he had sought a Commission so that doubts on Sasikala could be clarified, he replied in the affirmative.
When asked if the deposition of her doctors and personal security officers that Jayalalitha had been suffering from mental stress due to the cases foisted on her by the DMK government was right, he said it was true.
Mr. Senthoor Pandian further asked if the act of taking away the national flag from Jayalalithaa’s car after her conviction had affected her, Mr. Panneerselvam said, “There was a gap of one hour from the conclusion of the hearing at noon and pronouncement of judgment at 1 p.m. When the judgment was pronounced, one female constable held Amma’s hand and dragged her. It was shocking and stressful even for all of us that such an inhumane act was done to her,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Panneerselvam said he was not aware of the then Governor, Vidyasagar Rao, visiting Apollo Hospital and meeting the Chairman and leaving without seeing Jayalalithaa who was on ECMO support.
“Around 10 - 10.30 p.m. (on December 5, 2016), three senior ministers (including me) were called to see Amma as her ECMO ventilator support was about to be pulled. We were told that almost everything was over,” he submitted.
