An NGO has written a letter to the Maharashtra government seeking to know why the jailed NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has been kept in a hospital when he is not suffering from any serious ailment, and demanded a judicial probe into the issue.
Bhujbal, arrested in a money-laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate in March this year, was admitted to the state-run J J Hospital on September 17 after he showed degnue-like symptoms.
The former Deputy Chief Minister was shifted to the hospital from Arthur Road Jail where he is under judicial custody.
The NGO 'Society for Awareness of Civil Rights', in a letter written to the Governor, the Chief Minister, Medical Education Minister and Chief Secretary, has questioned his prolonged stay in the hospital despite being tested negative for dengue.
It also demanded action against the J J Hospital authorities and inquiry by a sitting High Court judge into circumstances under which he was shifted from the jail to the hospital and his overstay there.
R P Yajurvedi Rao, president of the NGO, alleged that VIPs were meeting Bhujbal during non-visiting hours, and said if his tests for dengue were negative, he should not be staying in the hospital.
However, J J Hospital's Dean Dr T P Lahne defended Bhujbal's hospital stay. "Bhujbal has severe health disorders, and is suffering from cardiac aliments. His muscles have swollen and he has a low pulse rate. To treat him in the case of emergency, he has been kept under observation," Dr Lahane said.
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