Kochi, Jan 4 (IANS): Six days after she fell 15 feet down at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, Congress; first-time Kerala legislator Uma Thomas on Saturday was taken off of a ventilator at a private hospital where she is being treated.

The medical team attending on Uma however has said she will be closely monitored as her rib injury is getting healed.

On Saturday, Thomas was able to sit on her hospital bed.

Dr Krishnanunni Polakulathhe, the head of the medical team at the private hospital, where she is being treated, was always positive about her recovery, but had expressed his concern about the rib injury which caused her breathing problems and said that weaning her off from the ventilator would be a challenge.

On Saturday afternoon, the medical team was able to do it, but Thomas will have to be in intensive care for a few more days.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, owned by the CPIM-controlled Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA). Thomas had tripped over a barricade near the VIP pavilion after greeting state Culture Minister Saji Cherian.

The accident happened during a Guinness World Record attempt for a mass dance performance featuring around 12,500 participants. It sparked a blame game, with authorities launching an investigation into the event’s organisation.

Meanwhile, this case has turned controversial after widespread complaints surfaced about the poor security measures that were taken for this big event.

Three people have been arrested and released on bail and the GCDA, which came under fire for its callous attitude, on Saturday suspended a woman engineer for failing to do her duty.

Thomas, the widow of Congress veteran P.T. Thomas, represents the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency. She entered politics after her husband died in December 2021. She won the bypoll with a margin of over 25,000 votes, defying expectations of a Left victory.

A former student leader during college, Thomas is known for her polite demeanour and well-researched speeches in the Assembly. As the only woman Congress legislator in the current Assembly, she holds a significant and symbolic position in her party.