Arvind Kejriwal accused Tihar jail administration of dishonesty due to political pressure in a letter he sent on Monday; jail admin hasn't responded to the allegations yet.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal/ File Photo
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to the superintendent of the Tihar jail, citing his need for daily insulin due to an increase in his blood sugar levels, according to sources from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). According to AAP insiders, Kejriwal also denied the jail administration's claim that physicians at AIIMS had written off worries about his health, reported PTI.
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According to the sources' statement to the news agency, Kejriwal accused the jail administration of dishonesty due to political pressure in a letter he sent on Monday to the superintendent. The Tihar jail administration hasn't responded to these allegations right away, though.
In an earlier statement, the Tihar administration said in a release on Sunday that Kejriwal and leading AIIMS specialists had scheduled a video conference for April 20, but neither the Chief Minister nor the physicians brought up insulin or Kejriwal's health during the meeting, the report added.
The AAP insiders told PTI that Kejriwal has diabetes, but his demands for insulin have allegedly gone unanswered. They go on to claim that there is a plot to harm him. They further told the news agency that Kejriwal needs daily insulin injections because his blood sugar spikes three times a day, ranging from 250 to 320. Despite the statement from the jail administration, the Chief Minister claimed that the physicians at AIIMS did not discount his health concerns.
They were quoted in the PTI report as saying, "Kejriwal wrote to Tihar jail superintendent saying he was hurt after reading the statement from jail authorities in newspapers. In the letter, he said the statements of the Tihar administration are false and said he has been asking for insulin daily. During the day, his sugar levels see a spike thrice and read anywhere between 250 to 320."
Nonetheless, the Tihar administration insisted that during the video call, qualified experts reassured Kejriwal that there was no reason for grave concern and counselled him to take his prescriptions as directed, the report added.
A prominent AIIMS specialist and medical staff from Tihar jail participated in the session, which was organised by the jail administration at Kejriwal's wife's request. The AIIMS specialist went over Kejriwal's diet, medication schedule, and CGM data.
Since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with a money-laundering case involving the Delhi government's now-defunct excise policy, Kejriwal has been lodged in Tihar jail till April 1.