Drug overdose probe: Jail ponders psychiatrist for Indrani Mukerjea

“We are awaiting a final report of the doctors and that of the chemical analysis to ascertain the real cause of her sudden illness. The inquiry will look into every aspect to probe if her illness is due to a lapse on the part of the prison administration or those escorting her,” IG, Prisons, Rajvardhan Sinha, told The Indian Express.

Jail officials are also probing how Indrani got access to the drugs. “The medical report has ascertained drug overdose as the cause of her illness. While her medicines in jail were given by the staff and a diary entry was made, we suspect the overdose could have happened outside when Mukerjea was taken for her hearing on Friday. We will question the escort and the jail staff if they either inadvertently, on the request made by Mukerjea or somebody else, or for some money, provided Indrani the drugs during the course of the Friday hearing, which she later took and fell unconscious in the barracks,” said a senior official of the Prisons Department.

“The other aspect that we are probing is if she was hoarding drugs and popped in a few pills on Friday,” said the official. Sources said the CCTV footage of the court and those outside her barracks will be studied to determine the sequence of events.

Sources added that after her deposition in February before a Delhi CBI court in the News X deal case in which her statement was recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC, the Prisons Department had enquired with Mukerjea if she wanted to move to a separate cell. She had expressed reservation about being confined alone and was therefore put in a cell with another inmate. Indrani had alleged that a deal of $1 million was struck between Karti Chidambaram and the Mukerjeas (she and husband Peter Mukerjea) to secure FIPB approval in favour of INX Media.

According to the CBI and the ED, Indrani and Peter have said in their statements that they met P Chidambaram in his North Block office in connection with the FIPB approval for FDI in INX Media

“Post the case, to ensure there is no threat to her security, we asked her if she was comfortable staying alone in a cell. She told us she was against the idea and asked if there could be at least one inmate in her cell. Accordingly we lodged her in a cell with one more inmate. We have ensured that the neighbouring cells have only two inmates each. This was done as a precautionary measure since she is a key witness in a CBI case,” said another senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Sources further added that after an episode when Indrani’s illness caused a major embarrassment to the Byculla Jail staff, a register on the drugs administered to Mukerjea is maintained. “Indrani has been prescribed three medicines —- a pain killer (aspirin), an anti-hypertensive drug and an anti-depressant. Whenever she takes any of those, an entry is made in the register. After the 2015 fiasco, the jail staff were asked to put the medicines in Indrani’s mouth as per the prescription. This is to ensure that there is no overdose or popping of the wrong pills. After Friday’s episode, the register was checked and a cursory glance shows that the logs were maintained. However, the inquiry will concentrate on this aspect also,” added the official.

While Mumbai Police have not started any probe into the episode, sources say that if Sinha’s inquiry doesn’t find the jail staff responsible for any commission or omission, a complaint will be made with the police to probe the case.