B Balamurugan, a bureaucrat belonging to the Indian Revenue Service has approached O Panneerselvam, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, with a plea to order an enquiry into the hospitalisation and demise of J Jayalalithaa, the former chief minister.
In a memorandum submitted to the chief minister through the district collector of Salem, Balamurugan pointed out that there were many contradictions and discrepancies in the releases issued by the Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, where Jayalalithaa was admitted on 22 September 2016 following complaints of fever and dehydration.
“On September 27 the Apollo Hospital stated in press release that the chief minister is completely normal in health and held meeting with officials on Cauvery River Water Dispute and is in hospital only for recuperation,” Balamurugan said in the petition he sent to the Chief Minister.
“Though the initial releases said she was stable and on normal diet, subsequent releases said the then chief minister had a bout of infection in the lungs,” Balamurugan told The Pioneer. He said a comprehensive inquiry be held by a team of officials about the kind of treatment and medicines given to Jayalalithaa.
According to him, the best person to head such a commission of enquiry would be U Sagayam, the IAS officer who went into the nuances of the illegal sand and granite mining in Tamil Nadu. “It may be remembered that the Madras High Court had appointed him as the Commission of Inquiry to probe the sand mining,” said Balamurgan who is working as an assistant commissioner in the excise department.
He said there was a feeling among the people that the Tamil Nadu government failed to take any action to save the life of Jayalalithaa. “Even after the death of Jayalalithaa, there were rumours like she was beaten to death, her two legs were amputated, she died long time back and she was embalmed,” said Balamurugan.
He has marked a copy of his petition to the President of India, Governor of Tamil Nadu and the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. Balamurigan’s wife G Pravina, a lawyer, had filed a PIl in the Madras High Court asking for a comprehensive probe into the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa . But this was rejected in the admission stage itself. “We want to bring out the truth behind the untimely demise of the former chioef minister. There are many questions which the Apollo Hospital management had failed to answer. How a person admitted to the ICU gets infection in the lungsIJ” he asked.
S Vaidhyanathan, a MHC judge while hearing a plea by an AIADMK worker had last week expressed his reservations on Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation and death.