'Kejriwal stopped taking insulin months before his arrest'

NEW DELHI:

Tihar jail

administration on Saturday said that Delhi chief minister

Arvind

Kejriwal had stopped taking insulin months before his arrest and is on a basic anti-diabetes oral medicine.
Tihar jail submitted

Delhi CM

's health report to

LG V K Saxena

after he asked the director general of prisons for a factual report into the Aam Aadmi Party's allegations that Kejriwal was not being provided insulin in Tihar jail.

As soon as the report came out, AAP leader and state education minister Atishi said the report has "exposed" the BJP's "conspiracy".
"At the behest of the BJP, a conspiracy is underway to kill Kejriwal in jail. The chief minister has been taking insulin for 12 years, what is the problem for the Tihar administration to give insulin to him?," she asked.

Kejriwal, who is being treated by a private doctor in Telangana for diabetes, ceased insulin intake several months ago. At the time of his arrest, he was taking only Metformin, a basic anti-diabetes oral medication, according to officials referencing the Tihar report.
During his medical assessments in Tihar jail, Kejriwal informed doctors that he had been using insulin for the past few years but stopped its usage a few months ago, as stated in the report.

"At the time of arrest, he was just taking a basic anti-diabetes oral medicine tablet Metformin... During his medical check-ups in Tihar Jail, CM Kejriwal told Doctors that he was taking insulin till last few years and stopped taking insulin a few months back allegedly by a Telangana Doctor… Also, as per the MLC report available from RML Hospital, Kejriwal was neither advised any insulin nor any requirement of any insulin was indicated," the report read.
"On 10.04.2024 and 15.04.2024, Kejriwal was reviewed by Medicine Specialist and advised oral anti-diabetic drugs / medicines... it is incorrect to state that Kejriwal was denied insulin at any point of time during his treatment," it added.
Kejriwal was apprehended on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case related to the Delhi government's defunct excise policy. Since April 1, he has been incarcerated in Tihar jail.
Medical records from RML Hospital indicated that Kejriwal had not been prescribed insulin, nor was there any indication for its requirement, as per the Tihar report. Additionally, the report noted that the chief minister's health was evaluated by a medicine specialist on April 10 and April 15.
According to the report, the Tihar administration wrote to AIIMS, requesting a diet plan for the AAP chief. It stated that Kejriwal had been regularly consuming high-sugar foods such as sweets, laddoos, bananas, mangoes, fruit chaat, fried foods, namkeen, bhujia, sweetened tea, poori-aloo, pickles, and other high-cholesterol foods.
The diet plan provided by AIIMS strictly prohibits most of the food items he has been consuming. Additionally, Kejriwal is permitted to consume only 20 ml of oil per day in his meals.
Furthermore, the Tihar administration mentioned that, according to a government circular, no referral can be made to any private hospital, despite Kejriwal's request for videoconferencing with his doctor.
(With inputs from agency)