Lalu accuses premier medical institution of discharging him under political pressure, supporters vandalise hospital.
New Delhi: Authorities at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the capital Monday rejected allegations that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had been discharged from the hospital under political pressure and said the decision had been taken purely on medical grounds.
The statement came after a group of unidentified people misbehaved with the AIIMS director and vandalised the cardio lab of the hospital in protest against what was seen as the discharge of Lalu Prasad Yadav against his will.
Yadav was shifted to AIIMS with high sugar levels, kidney infection and cardiac complaint from the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, on 29 March.
“The clinical report was released Saturday after which a team of five doctors handling his case communicated with the family that his condition was absolutely stable and he is fit to go,” a senior AIIMS official told ThePrint.
“However, Prasad wanted to travel in Rajdhani Express, which does not have a daily service from Delhi to Ranchi. Thus, the discharge was delayed till Monday,” the official added.
The RJD chief has been serving his jail term in Ranchi after being convicted in multiple fodder scam cases.
The row over his discharge erupted after he alleged that he was discharged because of “political vendetta” and his life was under treat.
“It’s every individual’s right to get the satisfactory treatment… It’s a 16-hour train journey from Delhi to Ranchi…doctors should not succumb to political pressures,” the former Bihar CM said in a statement released by his party.
The matter turned ugly after a group of unidentified persons misbehaved with the AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria and vandalised the cardio-thoracic lab.
“We do not know whether they were the supporters of RJD but they came and ransacked the cath lab of the hospital and misbehaved with the director,” the AIIMS official said.
The controversy erupted just hours after Congress president Rahul Gandhi met Prasad in the hospital Sunday.
“He has improved significantly and as per advice of the medical board constituted for his treatment, he is being referred back to Ranchi Medical College for management of his chronic issues,” said a statement issued by AIIMS Monday.
“He is currently stable and is fit to travel,” it added.
Deepak Kumar, deputy chief security officer of AIIMS, said in the FIR that “8 to 10 miscreants misbehaved with the AIIMS staff and created nuisance in the hospital area protesting against the discharge of Lalu Prasad Yadav”.
“They also damaged the glass door of Path Lab resulting in injury to security guard of AIIMS…With the intervention of security staff the safety of AIIMS staff was ensured and crowd dispersed,” the FIR read.