Among the mysteries freshly raked up around the death of J Jayalalithaa, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, is this fundamental one: Did she die in September last year, or on December 5, or on any date in between?
Jayalalithaa’s death was announced on December 5 after nearly 75 days in a Chennai hospital, where she battled septicaemia. But this official version of events is coming under question as government ministers hint at political intrigue, shadowy conspiracies, and even foul play.
On Monday, the Tamil Nadu government – still run by Jayalalithaa’s party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) – announced a commission of inquiry to probe her death. A retired high court judge, A Arumughaswamy, will lead the investigation and submit a report in three months.
The opposing Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party has also called for an inquiry by the federal agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation.
“The different statements issued by ministers have exposed that there is a big mystery,” said M K Stalin, the DMK’s acting president.
The appointment of Mr Arumughaswamy’s commission came as claims and counter-claims from Tamil Nadu ministers and other AIADMK members flew thick and fast.
Perhaps the most dramatic statement came from Dindigul Sreenivasan, the state’s minister for forests, who contradicted the story put out thus far: that Jayalalithaa had been receiving visitors during most of her stay in hospital, and that she only took a turn for the worse in early December.
“We’ve lied that she ate idlis (a steamed rice dish) and that people met her in hospital,” Mr Sreenivasan said at a party meeting last week. “The truth is that nobody saw her… We were forced to lie.”
Two other ministers have issued similar statements.
Mr Sreenivasan blamed V K Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s long-time companion, for blocking all access to the ailing chief minister while she was in hospital and for fabricating the details of her death. After Jayalalithaa died, Ms Sasikala briefly assumed the leadership of the AIADMK, but she was forced to relinquish the position when the Supreme Court convicted her of corruption in February.
She is now serving a four-year prison sentence in Bengaluru.
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Read more:
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Ms Sasikala’s family, however, still retains a measure of power. As fractions in the party developed following Jayalalithaa’s death, Ms Sasikala’s nephew, T T V Dhinakaran, gained the leadership of one faction of legislators.
On Monday, Mr Dhinakaran dismissed Mr Sreenivasan’s claims, saying that his aunt had shot video footage of Jayalalithaa during her hospitalisation but had not made it public out of a sense of decorum.
Jayalalithaa was wearing a loose nightgown in the video, he said, and she had always hated to be seen in such informal attire.
“If we release the video now, there will be a debate on its authenticity,” Mr Dhinakaran said. “But we’re ready to release it to any appropriate inquiry… We don’t have any fear.”
These contradictory claims over Jayalalithaa’s death build on rumours that have existed for months already. In February, a party leader named P H Pandian alleged that the chief minister had been murdered, and that the lengthy stay in hospital was only designed to cover up the murder.
The hospital’s authorities participated in this lie, Mr Pandian alleged.
Last October, when Jayalalithaa was still the leader of her party, she approved a by-election affidavit not with her signature but with the thumbprint of her left thumb.
“The signatory has undergone tracheostomy recently and has an inflamed right hand, [so] she is temporarily unable to affix her signature,” an accompanying doctor’s note testified at the time. “Hence she has affixed her left thumb impression on her own in my presence.”
But several pieces of evidence surrounding Jayalalithaa’s illness or death do not fit with the conspiracy theories issued by the ministers, said Peer Mohamed, who runs Ippodhu, a website that covers Tamil politics.
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Read more:
Why secrecy and mystery often surround the health of Indian politicians
Absent chief minister targeted ahead of Tamil Nadu polls
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In March, the government released the late chief minister’s hospital discharge summary as well as medical reports composed by a visiting team of doctors from New Delhi. The reports run to more than 50 pages, Mr Mohamed said, and they are consistent with the official narrative.
Instead, he said, the ministers were creating this confusion as a distraction from the government’s failures and the factional chaos within the AIADMK.
Mr Mohamed pointed, in particular, to the suicide of S Anitha, an aspiring medical student in Tamil Nadu, on September 1. Anitha had fared well in the state’s own school-leaving examinations but poorly in the pan-Indian entrance tests for medical students.
Her suicide enraged Tamil Nadu, which has long held that the national entrance tests discriminate against states that follow their own educational syllabi and teaching methods.
“If Jayalalithaa was alive, she would have got Tamil Nadu exempted from these national tests, as the [federal] government had earlier promised,” Mr Mohamed said. “But the state government is now a weak one. It doesn’t have any sort of power or ability to bargain, as Jayalalithaa had.”
“This is why they’re whipping up an issue that is, in my view, closed and settled,” Mr Mohamed said. “The political class is always very good at this.”
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Read more:
Indian politician’s death sparks outpouring of grief — video
India’s Jayalalithaa laid to rest in Chennai between memorials to her mentors
Jayalalithaa Jayaram: From reluctant screen star to Indian political powerhouse
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The%20specs
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BLACKBERRY
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi
4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Company%20Profile
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Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
Gulf Under 19s
Pools
A – Dubai College, Deira International School, Al Ain Amblers, Warriors
B – Dubai English Speaking College, Repton Royals, Jumeirah College, Gems World Academy
C – British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Yasmina Academy
D – Dubai Exiles, Jumeirah English Speaking School, English College, Bahrain Colts
Recent winners
2018 – Dubai College
2017 – British School Al Khubairat
2016 – Dubai English Speaking School
2015 – Al Ain Amblers
2014 – Dubai College
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
