'CCTV footage of Jayalalitha's stay in hospital not available'

The Close Circuit TV (CCTV) footage of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's stay in Apollo Hospital is not available, as disclosed by hospital chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy on Thursday during a press conference here.

"CCTV cameras at Apollo Hospitals were turned off during the 75-day hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa before her death on December 5, 2016," Reddy told reporters.

After Jayalalithaa was admitted, she was the only patient to occupy 24-bed intensive care unit (ICU).

"As soon as she got admitted, the access to the ICU was closed. All patients were diverted to another ICU. This ICU was occupied only by her. Only one out of 24 rooms in the ICU was used. They removed the camera because they did not want everyone to be watching," Reddy said.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22, 2016. She suffered a cardiac arrest on December 4 and was declared dead the following day.

Following her death, suspicion over the circumstances leading to her demise were raised by several persons, including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his followers.

Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission is currently investigating the death of Jayalalithaa.

Reddy said that the hospital had submitted all relevant documents to the one-man Commission.