Jailed Sidhu taken to hospital with liver issues, ‘kept under observation’

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a 1988 road rage case in which a 65-year-old man named Gurnam Singh had died.

Jailed Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was on Monday admitted to Chandigarh's Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) due to liver-related problems. Later, in a statement, the hospital said the condition of the cricketer-turned-politician is stable and he will require further evaluation.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu. (HT File)

“Navjot Singh Sidhu has been admitted to the Hepatology ward, Nehru Hospital Extension , PGIMER, Chandigarh…due to liver-related problems and requires further evaluation. He has been kept under observation and is stable now,” a statement by PGIMER's official spokesperson Ashok Kumar read.

On May 19, Sidhu was sentenced to one year in jail by the Supreme Court in a 1988 road rage case in which a 65-year-old man named Gurnam Singh was killed. The former Punjab Congress president was let off in 2018 with a fine of ₹1,000. However, the apex court enhanced his punishment on a plea filed by the victim's family. Sidhu along with his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu were involved in the incident.

The 58-year-old Congress leader, lodged in Patiala central jail, suffers from medical conditions such as embolism and has a liver ailment. He had undergone treatment for acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) at a hospital in Delhi in 2015, a PTI report said.

Sidhu's lawyer HPS Verma recently said the Congress leader had sought a special diet in prison. The counsel added that Sidhu cannot eat wheat, flour, sugar and some other food items. “He can have berries, papaya, guava, double-toned milk and food items which do not have fibre and carbohydrates,” Verma had said.

On his first night as a prisoner in the Patiala central jail, Sidhu had skipped his dinner saying he already had his food and only took some medicines. Owing to his “rigorous imprisonment”, Sidhu, who is in the same jail where Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia is lodged in a drugs case, will have to work as per the jail manual.

He will earn ₹40 to ₹60 per day during his jail term. But, for the first three months, he will be trained. The jail manual states that an unskilled inmate gets ₹40 per day and skilled one ₹60 a day.

(With bureau inputs)