Arvind Kejriwal administered insulin in Tihar Jail: AAP
What's the story
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday was administered insulin at Tihar Jail after his blood sugar levels spiked to 320, the Aam Aadmi Party said in a post on X.
This comes a day after a court denied Kejriwal's request for consultation with a private doctor through video conferencing, agreeing with Tihar authorities that he cannot be treated differently from other inmates.
Notably, the expected values for normal fasting blood glucose concentration are between 70 mg/dL and 100 mg/dL.
Context
Why does this story matter?
According to the AAP, Kejriwal's health has been deteriorating since his arrest on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
On April 3, the party said that Kejriwala—a Type 2 diabetes patient—had lost around 4.5kg since his incarceration.
Recently, AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi claimed that Kejriwal's blood sugar has been above 300 for the last 10 days.
The CM has been denied insulin "despite repeated request," she added.
AIIMS doctors
Medical board to decide if Kejriwal needs insulin
On Monday, the Delhi court also refused to accept Kejriwal's plea for insulin, observing that a person suffering from hyperglycaemia cannot be administered insulin on the basis of his request.
It also ordered constitution of a medical board by director, AIIMS, for the CM's treatment in jail.
The board will have to submit its report to the court of special judge Kaveri Bajwa at the earliest specifying whether there is any requirement for administering insulin to Kejriwal.
ED's claims
Controversy over Kejriwal's diet, diabetes treatment
This development comes amid the controversy over Kejriwal's diet and diabetes treatment in Tihar.
Recently, the jail authorities in a report to Delhi Lieutenant General VK Saxena said that the RML Hospital doctors did not prescribe insulin for the CM.
According to them, Kejriwal's blood sugar levels were not concerning, and he was advised oral anti-diabetic medication.
Earlier this week, the Enforcement Directorate claimed that Kejriwal was intentionally consuming foods such as mangoes and aloo-poori to elevate his blood sugar.
Counsel's argument
Kejriwal's lawyer refute claim
However, Kejriwal's lawyer, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, has refuted these claims, stating that only three out of 48 meals sent from home contained mangoes and that Kejriwal uses sugar-free sweeteners in his tea.
In Tihar, Kejriwal's diet includes eggs, poha, namkeen, banana, upma, uttapam, roti, puri sabji, salad, rajma, rice, tea, mango, papaya and sweets, according to the submissions of the ED.