Tihar says insulin not indicated for Kejriwal; AAP alleges murder plot

Tihar prison authorities have submitted a report to lieutenant governor VK Saxena saying that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal did not require insulin to be administered as his blood sugar levels were “not alarming”.

The report, a copy of which HT has seen, also said that Kejriwal was not on insulin when he was arrested and brought to the jail, adding that he had stopped taking insulin shots months before his arrest on March 21 — a claim senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called a lie as the prison authorities were not “portraying the true picture”. The party has been alleging that Kejriwal was being denied insulin in jail which could prove detrimental to the CM’s health.

According to the report, Kejriwal was given oral medication which was prescribed to him in jail by a doctor of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after he complained of increased blood sugar levels.

The report, signed by the director general (DG), prisons, added that Kejriwal’s vitals were being monitored daily and the results were also attached. Considering all parameters and vitals of the CM, since his lodgment in judicial custody, his blood sugar levels were not alarming, and administration of insulin was not required, the report said.

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A fresh set of allegations had unfurled at the Rouse Avenue court over the week after ED claimed the CM was indulging in mangoes and consuming sugary tea in a deliberate attempt to obtain sympathy from the court for bail. The AAP refuted the allegations and said the 55-year-old chief minister had been complaining of increased blood sugar levels and flagging the need for insulin which has been refused by ED.

Saxena on Thursday asked the DG, prisons, to submit a “factual and comprehensive report” to him about Kejriwal’s health and medical records within 24 hours. In a post on social media website X, the LG said that though “prisons” were a state government subject, no laxity would be tolerated regarding the CM’s health. Kejriwal was sent from the ED’s custody to judicial custody in Tihar jail on April 1.

‘Incorrect to state CM was denied insulin’

The report said that the chief minister was examined in custody on April 1, and he reported a history of diabetes as well as chronic asthma and constipation. According to the report, the CM also mentioned that he was under diabetes-reversal treatment by a doctor based in Telangana.

“On a subsequent visit to OPD on April 2, 2024, he gave an alleged history of type-II diabetes Mellitus on regular treatment for last few years (no document available) and an alleged history of chronic bronchitis/asthma (no document available). As per inmate [Kejriwal], he gave a history that he was taking insulin till the last few years and stopped... few months back allegedly by the Telangana doctor. Inmate recently complained of a spike in blood sugar for which he was started oral medicine... by doctor at ED... Initially, he was on oral medicine tablet Metformin only,” the report said.

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It added that before being taken into custody, the CM was taking an anti-diabetic medicine alongside being treated for chronic constipation as prescribed by doctors from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.

The report also said that the Telangana doctor had stopped the insulin much before the CM’s arrest and the MLC report from RML indicated Kejriwal was not advised insulin.

“It is reiterated that on April 10, 2024 and April 15, 2024, he was reviewed by a medicine specialist and advised oral antidiabetic drugs/medicines... it is incorrect to state that he was denied insulin at any point...,” the report added.

The Tihar report also stated that according to a government circular, no referral can be made to any private hospital, as demanded by Kejriwal. Tihar jail administration also submitted in its report that insulin was available adequately in the jail dispensary and will be administered to Kejriwal as and when required based on doctors’ reports.

‘Conspiracy to kill CM’

Responding to the report, Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the prison authorities were not sharing the true picture by claiming that the CM was only on oral medicine, reiterating the party’s claim that there was a conspiracy to “kill the CM”.

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“Nowadays, in every household in India, there is someone with diabetes. As a health minister, I’m saying that... once a person is on insulin, the oral medication doesn’t work,” Bharadwaj said.

“He (CM) has been repeatedly telling the doctor that his sugar level is increasing and needs insulin. The doctor is saying, ‘I won’t give it’. Irrational arguments are being given on this. News is being planted by the jail administration, central government, and LG, regarding the same and there is a conspiracy to kill the CM,” Bharadwaj said.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president, Virendra Sachdeva, said the Aam Aadmi Party was running a false campaign. “The detailed report issued by the doctors has dispelled the false campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party. It is now clear that there is no shortage of sugar medications in jail, and no doctor has recommended insulin for him yet. It would be better for AAP to stop false and misleading politics regarding Kejriwal’s health,” said Sachdeva.