A day after the details of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa's hospital bills were made public, the continuing probe into her death appears to be expanding into other areas.
The one-man commission comprising Justice Arumugasamy, looking into the death of the former chief minister, seems to have extended the probe beyond the days of her hospitalisation, to Kodanad tea estate owner Peter Karl Edward Craig Jones who was summoned by the panel.
“I am not entirely aware of the intention of the probe commission summoning me for an inquiry. But as far as the circumstances surrounding the hospitalisation and the eventual death of Jayalalithaa are concerned, I have nothing to contribute in that area at all. I was completely unaware of the circumstances. But the impression I was given, when I was summoned by the commission, is that the inquiry was going into more depth and covering more areas that were not specifically or directly linked to her hospitalisation,” Jones told THE WEEK after his deposition before the commission.
According to Jones, he was asked to appear before the commission two weeks ago and the summons were sent to him three days ago. Jones, in fact, was wondering why he was being summoned as he may not be able to lend any information about Jayalalithaa’s medical condition. However, he was informed that his appearance before the commission might lead to legal processes to get back his Kodanad estate, which was sold off decades ago to Jayalalithaa.
The one-man commission was set up in 2017, soon after the merger of the Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam factions. The commission, since then, has seen several extensions and summoned many VIPs and VVIPs, including the doctors who treated Jayalalithaa during her 75-day hospitalisation. The commission has also questioned bureaucrats like former city police commissioner S. George, RSS ideologue Swaminathan Gurumurthy and several others who raised doubts about Jayalalithaa’s death.
It may be recalled that Health Minister C. Vijaya Bhaskar, who was summoned for enquiry on December 18, failed to appear before the commission. Besides, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who was supposed to appear before the commission on December 20, will also not depose. According to sources, since the commission has other important jobs to carry out on December 20, summons to the deputy chief minister have been set aside for now and he will be called at a date that the commission finds convenient.
It is to be noted that the doubts raised by Panneerselvam over Jayalalithaa’s death was one of the main reasons for the inquiry commission being set up.
