‘4 cops liaised with Apollo on security’

CHENNAI: Four police officers in J Jayalithaa’s security detail coordinated with Apollo Hospitals on security issues including turning off CCTV camera when the former chief minister was being taken for tests, the hospital said in an affidavit submitted on Friday to the Justice (retd) Arumughaswamy commission, probing the circumstances surrounding the death of J Jayalalithaa.

The names in the affidavit are S Palanisamy, Sudhakar, R Veeraperumal and K N Sathiyamurthy. “These officers were in charge of the security of Jayalalithaa and were co-ordinating with Apollo’s security wing in all matters,” a source present in Friday’s proceedings said.

The commission had earlier asked Apollo chief operating officer (COO) to submit an affidavit about which government officials coordinated with thye hospital on security and CCTV operations. When Subbiah Vishwanathan, COO, said they were directed by government officers to turn off cameras when she was taken out of her ward, the commission asked him to file a separate affidavit giving specific names.

Apollo has already submitted to the commission that camera footage of Jayalalithaa was over-written as it had storage of only 45 days and that there was no specific directive from courts or police to store the particular data.

It also submitted that health secretary J Radhakrishnan and then chief secretary Rama Mohana Rao were given the health details of Jayalalithaa to vet it and return it to Apollo for issuing a press statement on their letterhead. “They may have altered it based on how much information they thought should be released to the media,” the source said. Apollo submitted that Jayalalithaa was involved in the information being given about her health on the first day of her admission.

At a press conference later, Raja Senthoor Pandian, advocate for V K Sasikala, said the commission on Friday told Ramesh Chand Meena, then secretary to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, that Rao “probably knew that Jayalalithaa died on December 4, 2016 and that is why he did not go and see her in the hospital” that day. Saying that he vehemently opposed this, Pandian said he then cross-examined Meena who produced proof of Rao giving a press release about Jayalalithaa’s death only on December 5.

Pandian also said that he told the commission, “The Governor’s role cannot come under judicial scrutiny under Article 361 of the constitution.”

“Why does the then governor need to lie? We came to his rescue by bringing out the relevant facts in Meena’s cross-examination,” Pandian said at the press conference.

Pandian has submitted as evidence O Pannerselvam approaching Rao on December 5 night to anoint himself CM. “When Pandian submitted this evidence and made these points, the judge got very angry and said he was not interested in all this as it was political in nature,” said a source present during the deposition.