CCTV cameras turned off on police instruction: Hospital tells Jaya panel
CHENNAI, Oct 06: The Apollo Hospital here has submitted to a panel probing late J Jayalalithaa's death that CCTV cameras in the corridors were switched off during the former chief minister's movement inside the premises based on instructions by police.
There are no CCTV cameras in the treatment rooms in the hospital, be it the ICU or the CCU, in keeping with international practices, legal manager S M Mohan Kumar apprised the Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry in an affidavit on behalf of the hospital.
CCTV cameras are, however, positioned in spots like corridors and entrances for security purposes, counsel for the hospital, Maimoona Badsha said quoting the affidavit submitted on Friday.
The affidavit was filed to answer two queries of the commission related to CCTV cameras and issuance of press releases by the hospital.
"Whenever the late chief minister was taken out of her room for diagnostic tests like a scan within the hospital, the cameras covering those particular pathways were switched off," she told PTI.
This was done based on instructions from police officials, including Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) K N Sathiyamurthy, she noted.
The cameras would be turned on after she returned to her treatment room and the second floor of the hospital, where the late leader was being treated, was under the control of police, she added.
As regards to the press releases, the hospital submitted in its affidavit that ahead of the issuance of the first press note on September 23, 2016, Jayalalithaa was involved in its preparation.
The late leader was concerned that information about her hospitalisation should be publicised so that there was "no panic."
Subsequently, the press notes detailing her condition were sent to the then chief secretary Rama Mohana Rao and health secretary J Radhakrishnan, who in turn approved them for release to the media.
On Friday, government secretary to then governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Ramesh Chand Meena, and Apollo Hospital's Subbiah Viswanathan were among those who appeared before the commission, and counsel for Sasikala, Raja Senthoor Pandian, cross-examined them.
Jayalalithaa had passed away on December 5, 2016, after being treated in the hospital for 75 days from September 22, 2016, for various ailments.
In September 2017, the state government had constituted a probe panel under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, mandating it to inquire into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation on September 22, 2016, and the treatment provided at the hospital till her demise.
The commission, whose term has been twice extended since then, had invited all those having "personal knowledge and direct acquaintance" to furnish information related to her.
Several people, including present deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and his followers, had earlier raised suspicions around the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death.
Courtesy: timesofindia
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
