Jayalalitha’s hospital bill worth 6.85 crores, Rs 44.56 lakh still unpaid

A legal counsel for the hospital said the food bill included a lot of visitors for the former chief minister. The ruling AIADMK had claimed to have paid Rs. 6 crore on June 15, 2017, months after Jayalalithaa's death. The bill shows an amount of Rs. 44.56 lakh is still unpaid.

A legal counsel for the hospital said the food bill included a lot of visitors for the former chief minister. (Photo: PTI/File)

New Delhi: The treatment of J Jayalalithaa at the Apollo hospital in Chennai in 2016 cost Rs. 6.85 crore, according to a bill that has gone viral on social media. The former Tamil Nadu chief minister was in hospital for nearly three months until her death on December 5 that year. "Food and beverage services" cost Rs. 1.17 crore, according to the one-page summary that has a detailed break-up. The bill was in the documents submitted recently to a panel investigating the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death A legal counsel for the hospital said the food bill included a lot of visitors for the former chief minister. The ruling AIADMK had claimed to have paid Rs. 6 crore on June 15, 2017, months after Jayalalithaa's death. The bill shows an amount of Rs. 44.56 lakh is still unpaid. Though the hospital received an amount of Rs. 41.13 lakh on October 13, 2016, there is no mention of who made that payment. When asked about the bill being leaked online, the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry and a legal counsel for the hospital in the panel denied any role in it. The bill is, however, genuine and it was submitted to the panel on November 27, the hospital counsel said. "The bill summary is not a complete factual reflection of all the details because the details were produced in more than 200 pages. We are surprised and shocked that a confidential document, which was submitted to the commission on November 27, is out in the open," hospital counsel Maimoona Badsha told Press Trust of India. The break-up shows a Rs. 71 lakh "consultation fee". UK-based doctor Richard Beale was paid Rs. 92 lakh and a Singapore-based hospital received Rs. 1.29 crore for professional charges. The room rent was Rs. 1.24 crore, but includes several rooms used by the politician's attendants. Jayalalithaa was admitted to hospital on September 22, 2016. A year later, amid allegations that the true state of her health was not revealed, the state government set up an inquiry. The inquiry panel has questioned over 100 witnesses. It has also asked to question VK Sasikala, Jayalalithaa's long-time friend, who is currently in jail in Bengaluru for corruption.