Kejriwal has only lost 2 kg, not 8.5 kg, says Tihar jail

Tihar jail authorities on Monday said Arvind Kejriwal lost only 2 kg in prison and that he was being regularly monitored by an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) medical board, refuting the Aam Aadmi Party's claims that the Delhi chief minister's health was deteriorating.

In a report sent to the Delhi government's Home Department, the Tihar administration shared Kejriwal's vitals and said that the narrative created by AAP ministers and leaders 'confuses and misleads the public'.

Meanwhile, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the report 'leaked' by the prison authorities showed that Kejriwal lost weight and suffered multiple hypoglycemia episodes in jail due to which 'something untoward' could happen.

Since Kejriwal's arrest in the excise policy-linked money laundering case on March 21, the AAP and the Tihar jail administration have been at loggerheads over his health condition.

Singh had on Saturday claimed that Kejriwal lost 8.5 kg in prison and this could be a sign of some serious ailment. He had also claimed that the blood sugar level of the AAP national convener had dropped below 50 mg/dl five times.

The Tihar report stated that Kejriwal weighed 65 kg when he first came to prison on April 1 and 66 kg between April 8 and 29.

When he returned to prison on June 2 after a 21-day bail, his weight was 63.5 kg.

"On July 14, his weight was 61.5 kg. So, effectively, he lost 2 kg," the report stated.

According to the report, Kejriwal has been eating home-cooked food in jail but regularly sends back portions of his meals.

A medical board of AIIMS has been constantly monitoring the chief minister and his wife Sunita Kejriwal remains in regular touch with the board, the report stated.

The prison administration said in its report that the AAP's narrative with 'false information and ulterior motive' was intended to 'browbeat' it.

"The blood pressure and sugar levels and weight of the accused is regularly being monitored and he is provided adequate treatment for all his ailments and is regularly having home-cooked food thrice a day.

"These facts are brought on record in the light of the media vilification being carried out by vested interest groups," it said.

AAP's Sanjay Singh alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party was playing with Kejriwal's life. It is a crime to 'leak' someone's medical report and there should be a probe into this, he said.

Even the medical report 'leaked' by the Tihar jail authorities to the media states that he lost weight and suffered multiple hypoglycemia episodes in prison, he said.

"Something untoward might happen someday and he (Kejriwal) could slip into a coma. Since his custody, his blood sugar has dropped below 50 mg/dL on five occasions in the night," the AAP MP claimed.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy 2021-22. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a corruption case related to the alleged scam from Tihar jail on June 26.

The chief minister was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday in the money laundering case but he remains in jail in the CBI case.