Despite doctor’s nod to return to prison, SP leader in hospital for over a year

Yadav was arrested on September 11, 2014, in connection with a case of attempt to murder and the Gangster Act. On March 17, last year, he was admitted to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital after being referred by the jail doctor. Yadav had then claimed to be suffering from pain in the backbone, said Pratapgarh District Jail Superintendent Dileep Kumar Pandey.

Nephrologist Dr Arvind Kumar Gupta, who is supervising Yadav’s treatment at the hospital, said: “Two months ago, we had advised that Gulshan Yadav be discharged from the hospital and sent to jail after finding his condition to be normal. I did not give the advice in writing but had conveyed the same to Yadav.” “In January, a medical board was set up by Allahabad Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Alok Verma to check on Yadav’s condition. The board members had examined Gulshan. Now, the next course of action will be decided on the basis of their report,” he added. Gupta said that when Yadav was brought to the hospital, he was suffering with pain in the backbone and urine infection. “After these problems were treated, he had complained of kidney problem and blood pressure,” he added.

Principal of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Dr S P Singh, said Gupta had informed him that a medical board has been set up in January on the direction of the Allahabad CMO and its report was awaited. Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital is affiliated to the medical college. When contacted, the Allahabad CMO said: “I had set up a medical board on the request of Pratapgarh jail authorities to determine the condition of Gulshan Yadav. The report of the board has been dispatched to the jail, district magistrate and the Pratapgarh SP in March.” He, however, refused to share the findings in the report, claiming it to be a legal matter.

However, Pandey, the jail superintendent, claimed he is yet to receive the report. “I have been regularly writing letters to the hospital, seeking information about Gulshan’s status. I had received a letter from the hospital in January, stating that Gulshan Yadav was being treatment and could not be discharged,” he claimed.

Pratapgarh SP Rohan P Kanay and district Chief Development Officer Mahendra Bahadur Singh — who has been the acting district magistrate since April 9 — also said they have not received any such report related to Yadav.