Delhi riots accused Tasleem Ahmed to undergo treatment in govt hospital following court order

A Delhi court allowed Ahmed, who was arrested under UAPA, to get surgery in a hospital after he stated before the court that he was at risk of contracting a serious infection.

A neighbourhood vandalised in northeast Delhi during the 2020 riots (representational image) | PTI

New Delhi: A Delhi court has allowed Tasleem Ahmed, arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, to undergo surgery in government hospital.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat directed the Tihar Jail Superintendent to get Ahmed treated at any government hospital with good medical facilities like Safdarjung Hospital or LNJP Hospital in Delhi.

During the hearing, advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing the accused, apprised the court that even though his client is being treated in jail, he is not getting relief and is at the risk of contracting a serious infection.

He requested the court to allow the accused to undergo surgery in any government hospital except for Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital.

The counsel said the accused was suffering from hydrocele, which is a type of swelling in the scrotum.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad said the allegations against Ahmed are serious in nature and that necessary medical treatment can be given to him in the Jail itself.

Besides, the Jail superintendent also submitted a report stating that the general condition of the inmate is stable and satisfactory and was advised scrotal support and oral medications by a doctor on June 11, which are being provided by the prison dispensary.

Patient’s basic blood investigation was done and the patient was scheduled for an outside hospital visit for the planning of surgery but the patient refused to go for the outside hospital, the superintendent further said.

Ahmed along with several others has been booked under the anti-terror law and they are accused of being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 violence, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

Besides him, Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, former student leader Umar Khalid, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others have also been booked under the stringent law in the case.