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Jailed Punjab AAP MLA getting VIP treatment in Patiala hospital for month
Medical superintendent Dr HS Rekhi quits after incarcerated MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra admitted in urology department a day after being discharged from hospital’s cardiology dept
Incarcerated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra, 61, who is in judicial custody in connection with a ₹40-crore bank fraud case, has been admitted to the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala since May 11.
While the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed his interim bail plea in the Supreme Court last week, it is learnt that Gajjan Majra has been cooling his heels in the air-conditioned super-specialty ward of the hospital for the past one month.
Hospital records show that the MLA was discharged from the cardiology department on June 6 but he was back in the emergency on June 7 and admitted in the urology department. When contacted, urology department head Dr Harbhupinder Singh confirmed, “Yes, Gajjan Majra has been admitted to our department. We are running tests of the patient.”
Gajjan Majra was arrested by the ED in connection with the ₹40-crore bank fraud case on November 6, 2023.
It is learnt that doctors of the cardiology department had been repeatedly asking the hospital administration to discharge the MLA as there was no medical ground to keep him admitted.
Surprisingly, jail officials said that Gajjan Majra had not been discharged from the hospital on June 6. Patiala Central Jail superintendent Manjit Singh Sidhu, said, “He has not come to the jail ever since he was admitted to the hospital a few weeks ago.”
Amid the controversy, medical superintendent Dr HS Rekhi is learnt to have put in his papers on health grounds. The resignation is yet to be accepted. Dr Rekhi was not available for comment.
Despite repeated attempts, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh and jails minister Harjot Singh Bains were not available for comment.
When contacted, ED officials said that they were not aware of the matter as the accused was in judicial custody.
Taking on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said, “Instead of keeping the ruling party MLA in jail, he is being given VIP treatment in hospital. Had it been any other opposition leader or the common man, they would have been in jail. The chief minister should explain why Sikh prisoners, who have completed their terms, are still languishing in jails and an AAP MLA accused of fraud has been given an AC room and other modern facilities in hospital while in judicial custody.”
Punjab-based RTI activist Manik Goyal, too, questioned the AAP government and said, “The AAP MLA has been admitted to the hospital for a month now. The hospital and the AAP government should explain the medical grounds for his stay. Why was he re-admitted on the very next day of his discharge?”
