The family of Jyothi Devi Komireddy, the former Congress MLA from Telangana’s Metpally who fought for 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies, is seeking answers after she underwent surgery and never regained consciousness, eventually passing away on November 8 last year.
On March 17, her son, writer and author Kapil Komireddi, through his lawyers, sent a “formal demand for clarification” to Dr Devi Shetty, a cardiac surgeon and chairman and founder of Narayana Health, seeking a response to several queries. These range from questioning the propriety of the process to decisions taken by the surgeon and the hospital.
Dr Shetty did not respond to calls, messages and emails seeking comment.
Jyothi Devi (70) underwent surgery at Narayana Health, Bengaluruon October 30 after being diagnosed with a rare condition called porcelain aorta with aneurysm.
Speaking to The Indian ExpressKapil Komireddy said that he was misled, coerced and lied to to opt for the surgery without being adequately made aware of the risks involved. “The explanation of risk was wrapped in a blanket of reassurance and tied with a bow that carried a warning of the consequences of not taking the risk,” he said.
A letter from Komirreddy and Associates LLP to Dr Shetty, dated March 17, read: “In April 2024, my client consulted you with his mother and later via video call in June. You reassured him that her case was less risky than others you had handled… However, three doctors in Singapore advised against surgery due to her age (70) and the high procedural risks. Despite this, your office repeatedly pursued my client, leading to the surgery on or about October 31, which lasted at least 10 hours. Mrs Komireddy never regained consciousness and passed away on November 8.”
Kapil’s lawyer asked: “Why was the surgery delegated, in part or whole, to your son rather than performed entirely by you?”
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He also asked why the intensivist was “not physically present during the surgery and the immediate post-operative period”.
“You met my client on October 31 but did not see them again until November 4… On November 4, you assured my client that his mother was stable and improving, yet your intensivist stated minutes later that she was unlikely to survive. What accounts for this stark contradiction?” the lawyer wrote.
“Why was my client not informed that his mother had suffered a brain herniation and instead learned of this incidentally from a junior staff member?” he wrote.
“My client requested that his mother’s body be returned in good condition. You assured him this would be done, yet on November 9, it was delivered with blood on her face and an A4 sheet pinned to her chest,” he wrote.
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Jyothi Devi was a one-time MLA from the Metpally assembly constituency, which was later merged into the Korutla seat. She won the by-election in 1998, defeating BJP’s T Venkata Ramana Reddy.
She served as an MLA for 17 months but it was during her term as president of the All India Women MLAs’ Association that she made the biggest impact, leading the campaign for 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies. Her husband, senior Congress leader Komireddi Ramulu, won from the same constituency in 2004.
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