No deep marks on Jayalalithaa cheek, says doctor who carried out embalming

Tamil Nadu’s former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s mortal remains being carried during her funeral procession in Chennai. (Source: PTI Photo/File)

With social media abuzz with images purportedly showing “dots” on Jayalalithaa’s cheek, a doctor who oversaw the late chief minister’s embalming procedure on Monday said she had found no such deep marks. “I did check, there were no deep dots (on cheek)…I cannot say why such dots appeared deep in social media (videos),” Prof Dr Sudha Seshaiyan of the Madras Medical College told reporters.

However, Dr Richard Beale, one of the doctors who had treated Jaya, sought to clarify that “criticially ill patients often have some markings on their face.” On criticism over Jayalalithaa’s photograph not being released, he said, “it is absolutely not a normal practice to photograph people who are critically ill.” He said there were no CCTV footage of Jayalalithaa getting treated.

Seshaiyan said that normal embalming procedure was followed to preserve the body. She said the procedure, that began on the midnight of December 5, was completed in 15 minutes and was done to prevent the body from deteriorating. As many as 5.5 litres of embalming liquid were used to preserve Jayalalithaa’s body, she said.