Jaya thumbprints: DMK man raises serious doubts

Dr Saravanan, the DMK candidate for the by-election Tirupparankundram in 2016, has added to the ongoing controversy by claiming that she would not have been alive when her thumb prints were obtained in the election affidavit of AIADMK candidates for four constituencies.

Saravanan had raised this suspicion in his petition submitted to the one-man panel of retired judge Arumugasamy, which has been appointed to inquire into the former Chief Minister’s death. 

Referring to the submission made by Dr Balaji to the court in a petition filed by him, he mentioned in the petition that 28 fingerprints were obtained from Jayalalithaa, while only 20 were required for the election and by-election to four constituencies, Aravakurichi in Karur district), Thanjavur (election), Tiruparankundram in Madurai district (by-election) and Nellithope in Puducherry (by-election). 

Had Jayalalithaa been alive, she would have definitely questioned the need for getting so many number of signatures. This raises the suspicion if she was alive or dead then. 

Another glaring discrepancy, Saravanan, the state joint secretary of DMK’s medical wing, pointed out in his affidavit to the one-man panel was confusion regarding the names on the list of doctors who had treated Jayalalithaa. Curiously, the name of Dr Balaji, who claimed to have obtained her thumb prints, was missing from the list. 

Saravanan while interacting with media persons, said that there was mismatch of details in a press release issued when Jayalalithaa was in hospital and the medical report. This had also been mentioned in his report to Arumugasamy. He has also asked the retired judge to appoint other doctors from a different state to investigate the former CM’s death.