Sasikala released from prison, but to be in hospital due to COVID-19

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas close aide V K Sasikala was released from Bengalurus central prison Parappana Agrahara Central Jail on Wednesday after prison authorities completed the release formalitiesThe central jail authorities wore Personal Protective Equipment PPE kits and completed the formalities at the hospital where she is presently undergoing treatment for Covid infection Her sisterinlaw J Ilavaris too was admitted in the same hospital on January 22She will however remain in the hospital as she is being treated for CovidParappana Agarahara Central Prison chief Superintendent V S Murthy stated that woman prison inmate number 9234 Sasikala Natarajan completed her prison term on January 27 and she has been released as per the courts orderThe health bulletin issued by the Victoria Hospital at 1130 am on Wednesday stated that Sasikala has been freed as per an official order at 11 am on January 27Sasikala will continue to be at Victoria Hospital for the next four to five days the hospitals medical superintendent saidThe bulletin added that according to the Covid protocols the patients can be discharged 10 days after testing if they are asymptomaticThey also need to have been without the need for oxygen for three days and Sasikala has maintained oxygen saturation of 9697 without oxygen for the past 12 hours the bulletin explainedA huge crowd of her supporters lined up outside Victoria Hospital raising slogans in her favour and distributed sweets in celebrationShe was rushed to the governments Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital on January 20 from the prison hospital after falling ill there and had been transferred to Victoria Hospital the following day where she tested Covid positiveThe 63yearold leader was reportedly unwell in her prison cell for about a week before being admitted to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital by the prison doctors with a diagnosis of type II diabetes mellitus hypertension hypothyroidism urinary tract infection UTI and suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Illness SARIHer release comes on a day when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurates a Rs 79 crore memorial to J Jayalalithaa along Chennais Marina BeachSasikala served her fouryear prison term in a disproportionate assets case since February 15 2017 The case pertains to amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 6665 crore during J Jayalalithaas tenure as chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 19911996In September 2013 a special court convicted Jayalalithaa to simple imprisonment of four years She was slapped with a Rs 100 crore fine and forced to step down as the CM The three coaccused V K Sasikala V N Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi were also convicted They were penalised with a fine of Rs 10 crore eachJayalalithaa challenged the conviction in the Karnataka High Court which acquitted her of all charges But in 2017 the Supreme Court upheld the special court verdict convicting all four of them Charges against Jayalalithaa were abated in view of her death on December 5 2016Soon after Jayalaithaas death Sasikala who is also known as Chinnamma took over the reins of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam AIADMK in December 2016 but was later expelled from the party by the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamiled campHer stay in Bengaluru prison too kicked off a row when Deputy Inspector General Prisons D Roopa on July 12 2017 submitted a report to State Police Chief Rupak Kumar Dutta and the AntiCorruption Bureau stating that AIADMK leader V K Sasikala Natarajan was receiving VIP treatment in the jail This case came to be known as the Sasikala bribery caseHighlighting violation of eight prison rules Roopas report stated that Sasikala has an exclusive kitchen and is provided with an inmate to help her with her daily choresThe report alleged that prison officials may have received a bribe of Rs 2 crore to give preferential treatment to Sasikala and the Director General of Prisons H N Satyanarayana Rao could also be a beneficiary She demanded that a fair probe should be conductedSasikala again came into the limelight in late November 2019 when the Income Tax department had reportedly attached benami properties valued at Rs 1600 crore allegedly belonging to her under the provisions of the Benami Transactions Prohibition Act It is further alleged that nine properties located in Chennai Puducherry and Coimbatore were purchased soon after demonetisationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever