New Delhi: Jailed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain, who has been in the news lately after a video of another Tihar prisoner massaging him went viral, fell in jail and had two epidural procedures after that, Indian Express has reported.
Two transforaminal epidural steroid injections to help with back pain were reportedly administered to Jain in July and August. When Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia referred to two “surgeries” Jain had undergone recently, this appears to be what he was talking about.
“During his time in prison, he fell and his spine got injured. His L5-S1 vertebrae or L5-S1 disk got damaged. As per his medical records, his nerves got pinched and he was hospitalised. He underwent two surgeries through which nerve blocks were implanted. While discharging him from the hospital, doctors recommended that he need regular physiotherapy,” Sisodia had said.
Indian Express reports that Jain was recommended physiotherapy by Lok Nayak hospital’s neurosurgery department as well as the medical board set up by the hospital, according to medical reports.
The newspaper quotes documents as saying that Jain complained of back pain and uneasiness after a fall in the jail, and was taken to GB Pant hospital. From there, he was referred to the Lok Nayak hospital. “Degenerative disease of the spine with resultant L5-S1 compressive radiculopathy and diffuse disc bulge at C6-C7 spine with indentation of ventral thecal sac. He was managed initially with strict bed rest followed by physiotherapy exercises. Medical management as advised by the orthopaedics team was incorporated into his treatment,” Jain’s MRI report said.
The discharge statement from Lok Nayak states, “integrated treatment was started for Jain in the form of pharmacological therapy as well as non-pharmacological therapy (physiotherapy, lumbar and cervical collar) in collaboration with medicine, pulmonary medicine, orthopaedics and physical medicine and rehabilitation along with minimal invasive therapy for pain management”. It continues that “due to inadequate response of pharmacological therapy and persistence of pain, the patient was planned for TFESI” on July 23 and August 3.
According to the documents, Jain also suffers from post-Covid fibrosis in both lungs as well as cervical spondylosis.
While being released, Jain was advised two weeks bed rest, regular physiotherapy, using a hard mattress for sleeping, cervical collar and lumbar belt application, according to the Indian Express.
Jain has sought contempt proceedings against the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly leaking CCTV footage of him in jail to the media. The ED had during a bail hearing earlier accused Jain of getting “special treatment” inside the jail. The court had ordered the ED and Jain’s legal team not to leak any content of affidavits and video evidence in this regard and had taken their undertakings in the matter.
The Tihar jail superintendent had been suspended over alleged ‘VIP treatment’ of Jain.
On November 17, Jain and two others arrested in the money laundering case based on a CBI FIR lodged against Jain in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act were denied bail. AAP has maintained that Jain’s arrest is an expression of BJP’s misuse of central agencies to exact political vendetta. Jain had been the party-appointed leader in charge of the upcoming Himachal Pradesh elections.
