On May 22, striking pictures of former Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, who has been behind bars since the end of May last year, emerged as he was taken to the Safdarjung hospital following complaints of extreme back pain.
A far cry from his pre-jail life, the pictures showed a wilted Jain battling serious physical and mental health challenges, coupled with severe weight loss and a belt strapped around his waist as he waited for his turn in the central government hospital. While in Tihar, Jain has been treated for spinal injury following a fall and examined for depression.
In a statement, Jain’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the leader was suffering from “sleep apnea”, “needed a BiPAP machine while sleeping”, and “the weight of depression has settled upon him”.
Strongly defending its former minister, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said: “You (BJP) are mocking the condition of this man? This is the same man who gave the world the model of ‘Mohalla Clinics’. This the same Satyendar Jain who was serving the people of Delhi during Covid-19 without a care for his own health. This is an illustration of torture.”
Earlier in May, Jain had written to jail authorities, complaining that he was suffering from depression and loneliness. The ex-minister had also requested that a few other inmates be moved into his cell. However, jail authorities issued a notice to the superintendent responsible for transferring three inmates into Jain’s cell in Jail number 7 without “discussing with jail administration”. Sources have confirmed that the Director General (Prisons) has said he will get Jain examined by doctors, preferably psychologists, to ascertain if he is suffering from depression.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP leader Vijendra Gupta said: “The first point is that he was overweight. Does AAP not know that he was overweight? It is good to lose weight, losing weight is a matter of how you manage your body.”
Gupta also recalled that when Jain was not in jail, he had lost 20kgs and had told the former that it was a consequence of having food once a day which stemmed from his Jain religious beliefs.
The BJP leader brushed aside Jain’s complaints of suffering from depression. “Whether it is depression or suppression or operation, he has to tell the court. If one indulges in corruption, it could lead to depression also”.
Noting that even the Supreme Court had not given bail to Jain, Gupta said: “If the Supreme Court does not give you bail, am I responsible? First you indulge in corruption and then you resort to emotional blackmail. This is not justified. This is an attempt to divert attention from the main issue.”
After the Delhi High Court dismissed Jain’s bail plea in the first week of May, the former health minister on May 15 moved the Supreme Court for the same. Jain’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing before the bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli, argued that Jain had “lost 35 kgs”, “has virtually become a skeleton” and “suffered from various ailments” and “had only fruits”.
Jain’s counsel has cited his multiple health challenges, among other reasons, as ground for bail — acute lumbar pain and associated vertigo, sleep apnea, patch on the lungs, alarming weight loss and depression. “The petitioner has been diagnosed with depression in prison and has been prescribed medication and therapy. He has already undergone three therapy sessions,” Jain’s lawyer told the top court.
The AAP in a statement said Jain’s condition took a turn for the worse following a fall in the washroom of Tihar resulting in spinal injury. Party leaders also said an MRI conducted on May 3, 2023, revealed degeneration in all intervertebral discs and while attending doctors have advised urgent spinal surgery, Jain has been placed at number 416 in the waiting list which means the surgery may take another five months.
ASG SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), has opposed Jain’s bail plea in the Supreme Court. The top court has issued a notice to the ED and allowed Jain the liberty to move the vacation bench for relief.
Satyendar Jain’s life inside Tihar has been controversial, with videos emerging of him getting a message by a man allegedly charged under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Sections 376, 506 and 509 (rape). As the BJP slammed Jain, the AAP claimed that he was undergoing physiotherapy sessions due his back ailment.
Then, CCTV pictured leaked from Tihar showed Jain having dry fruits and a television in his cell, giving more fodder to the BJP while putting the AAP on the back foot and lending weight to the ED’s argument that the former minister got “preferential” treatment in jail.
Jain has been behind bars on various charges under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act in an alleged case of money laundering registered by the Enforcement Directorate. In another week, the former health minister will complete exactly one year in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
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