The Tihar jail administration and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are locked in a heated exchange over the health condition of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. While AAP leaders have claimed that Mr Kejriwal is rapidly losing weight and his health is declining in prison, jail authorities have alleged such a narrative aims to browbeat the prison administration.
Responding to AAP leaders’ charge that Mr Kejriwal has lost 8.5 kg since he went to prison and that there is a conspiracy to kill him behind bars, the Tihar jail administration has put out a detailed update on the Chief Minister’s health status.
Mr Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case linked to Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy. He was out on bail briefly to campaign for the Lok Sabha election and then returned to Tihar jail.
The jail authorities have said Mr Kejriwal’s weight was 65 kg on April 1, the day he entered Tihar’s Central Jail No. 2. When he was granted bail on May 10 after a Supreme Court relief, he weighed 64 kg. When he surrendered again – June 2 – the weight was recorded as 63.5. Currently, Mr Kejriwal weighs 61.5.
Earlier, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had said Mr Kejriwal weighed 70 kg when he was arrested and this has reduced to 61.5 kg. This rapid weight loss is a sign of a serious ailment, Mr Singh claimed.
The jail authorities have said that the prison’s medical officer has said that the loss of weight “may be due to consumption of less quantity of food or low calorie intake”.
“Further, the accused is under supervision of the Senior Medical Officer, CJ-02 round the clock. The health of the UTP (undertrial prisoner) is under continuous monitoring and his vitals are being checked daily. The UTP is being reviewed by Jail visiting Medical Specialist Doctor of Tihar jail for complaints posed by him and is administered medicines, if required,” the jail report states.
Countering AAP leaders’ contention that Mr Kejriwal’s blood sugar had dropped multiple times in jail, the jail report said, “At present, the inmate Blood Sugar is being monitored as advised from the medical board and he is being provided treatment and diet as advised from the medical board, his vitals are within normal limits at present.”
The jail authorities have said the AAP ministers and lawmakers were levelling “baseless allegations”. “Such a narrative, confuses and misleads the public with false information and ulterior motives with intent to brow-beat the Prison administration,” they said.
Mr Kejriwal’s blood pressure, blood sugar and weight are being regularly monitored, he is being provided adequate treatment for all his ailments and is eating home-cooked food thrice a day, the jail authorities said.
In response, AAP’s Sanjay Singh said the jail report confirms that Mr Kejriwal has lost weight and that his blood sugar level has dropped multiple times. “If sugar levels are low, one may slip into coma in sleep. There is also the risk of a brain stroke,” he said.
The AAP has said Mr Kejriwal’s family, the party and his well-wishers are concerned about his health. “The aim of BJP and its government at the Centre is to keep him in jail and play with his life. They are hatching a conspiracy so that he faces some serious health issues,” he has alleged.
The BJP’s Delhi unit has hit back. Virendra Sachdeva, who leads the party in Delhi, has said AAP leaders are enacting a “drama” to “mislead” the court and ensure that Mr Kejriwal gets bail.
