Sasikala’s Health Deteriorates

Following hospitalisation in Bengaluru after testing positive for Coronavirus, doctors said that the condition of V.K. Sasikala, the close aide of Tamil Nadu former chief minister late J. Jayalalithaa, is deteriorating.

She was admitted to Bowring Hospital after she complained of fever, breathlessness and back ache.  She had developed symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness, the very feature of Covid-19, but her previous Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR test reports turned negative. As Bowring Hospital did not have CT scan equipment, the expelled AIADMK leader was shifted to Victoria Hospital.

In the CT scan conducted there, she tested positive for Coronavirus and in the wake of comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes, her condition began deteriorating fast.

The doctors at Victoria Hospital confirmed that her lungs were damaged and that she was undergoing treatment in the ICU.

Sasikala has been serving jail term for the last four years at the Parappana Agraharam jail after being arrested in connection with Rs 66 crore disproportionate assets case, following the death of Jayalalithaa in 2016. Her lawyer said that she was due to be released from jail on January 27, 2021.

However, following the apex court directives, Sasikala is getting released a year before her jail term ending, paying a penalty of Rs 10 crore.

Her release from jail gained significance in view of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled to be held in the next few months.