Sasikala stable but still in ICU, say hospital authorities

Sasikala has been serving a four-year prison sentence in connection with a disproportionate assets case after she was found guilty by the Supreme Court

VK Sasikala, the 66-year old expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader, remains in the intensive care unit (ICU) even though her condition has improved, according to Victoria hospital authorities.

VK Sasikala. (File photo)

Sasikala is a former aide of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. She was admitted to the hospital on January 20 after she complained of breathlessness and later tested positive for Covid-19.

In a health bulletin on Monday afternoon, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute said that Sasikala was asymptomatic. It said she was “conscious, alert and well oriented”.

The hospital said that her saturation levels were at 98% with two litres of oxygen and her sugar levels were 157. She was stable, taking food orally and walking with support.

Sasikala has been serving a four-year prison sentence after the Supreme Court convicted her in a disproportionate assets case. Her release from jail, scheduled for January 27, comes at a time when Tamil Nadu is preparing for assembly elections in which AIADMK takes on the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dinakaran started the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) to remain relevant within the high-decibel Tamil Nadu political climate.

Her time in prison has not been a quiet one either as a senior police officer alleged that she was receiving special treatment and this was being facilitated by the authorities themselves.

In 2019, the income tax department attached properties worth Rs1,600 crore belonging to her under the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act.