No cooler for Delhi CM Kejriwal in Tihar: AAP; jail clarifies ‘only during medical emergencies’

In a video address, Delhi minister Atishi said: “The BJP is hell-bent on torturing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In this unprecedented heat, when temperatures are touching 50 degrees Celsius, he has been placed in a cell that does not even have a cooler. Even hardened criminals in jail are provided with coolers. I want to ask the BJP and the Delhi L-G’s office, how far will you stoop?”

Responding to the statement, a senior Tihar jail official said that prisoners are provided with coolers only in “extreme medical emergencies”. “Inmates are not provided with water coolers or air conditioners… the jail board might provide an inmate with a water cooler in an extreme medical emergency. This, however, requires approval from a judge and senior jail officials concerned. The Delhi CM will be treated like other inmates…,” the official said.

Atishi also alleged Kejriwal’s weight was measured thrice on as many different machines during the medical examination after he surrendered on Sunday. “When the CM went to Tihar jail, a medical examination was done on him, as per the procedure. He weighed 61 kg. The jail authorities realised that if this report is made public, the people will realise that he has lost so much weight. A second weighing machine was then brought in and the weight was recorded, this time, 64 kg. They still thought this was less and then brought in a third machine, where his weight was recorded as 66.5 kg. I am confident that soon this information will be shared by the BJP, the L-G’s office, and the PMO. They will say his weight has increased. This is a conspiracy by the jail authorities.”

Responding to this, the Tihar jail official said that all the inmates use the same weighing machines, which are checked regularly.

A Delhi court on Saturday rejected Kejriwal’s interim bail plea, in which he had sought seven days to undergo diagnostic tests as he had lost weight while in the ED custody earlier.

Atishi also said that Kejriwal weighed 70 kg prior to his arrest on March 21. “Before surrendering on Sunday, his weight was recorded as 63 kg, when he weighed himself at home. These people opposed his application for a seven-day bail for diagnostic tests… the people of Delhi will not forgive them,” Atishi added.

Earlier, Kejriwal and the AAP had accused the Tihar jail authorities of denying the CM insulin during his previous custody period. While he was campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal alleged several times that despite being a diabetes patient from several years, he was denied medication for the first few days in Tihar.