New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, serving a jail term in fodder scam cases, left AIIMS in a wheelchair today after being discharged by the hospital which said his condition had improved significantly, but his party termed the move a "conspiracy to murder him".
The Rashtriya Janata Dal president had written to the AIIMS director, asking that his treatment be continued at the hospital till he recovered and urged the doctors at the institute not to act under pressure from "certain individuals or political parties".
The hospital said in a statement today Prasad had been referred to AIIMS from the Ranchi Medical College for an "acute medical condition".
"He is currently stable and is fit to travel," it said.
The hospital said he had "improved significantly" and, according to the advice of a medical board constituted for his treatment, was being referred to the Ranchi Medical College for the management of chronic health issues.
Supporters of the RJD president created a ruckus in the hospital protesting the AIIMS decision, with his party alleging there was a conspiracy to "murder" their leader by "forcing him out" of the premier hospital even though he was still ailing.
In the melee, the supporters broke a glass door, which led to a security guard being injured, and abused administration officials, including the director, hospital sources alleged.
They said a police complaint has been lodged against unidentified people over the matter.
The sources said the medical team formed to decide on the course of his treatment had planned to discharge Prasad on Saturday but the RJD chief had asked that he be kept in the hospital for another day because he wanted to travel by the Ranchi Rajdhani Express on Monday.
Prasad left AIIMS in a wheelchair at 3.25 pm today.
AIIMS said in the statement it had constituted a medical board consisting of senior faculty members from the departments of Medicine, Surgery, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Nephrology for his care.
"The medical board met on April 28, reviewed his progress and decided that he was fit to be discharged. However due to his chronic problems of hypertension, diabetes and backache, he was advised to be on a regular follow up and management at RIMS Ranchi," it said.
Prasad was put on injectable antibiotics and then on oral antibiotics. His blood sugar was controlled and an evaluation for a cardiac and renal status was also conducted, it said.
"He showed a significant improvement. He had no fever and his antibiotics were stopped," it added.
Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi met the RJD chief at AIIMS and enquired about his health.
Prasad had been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on March 17 after he complained of uneasiness while he was lodged at the Birsa Munda Jail. He has been serving a jail term since December 23.
On March 29, he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here for specialised treatment. A medical team, comprising six doctors, was set up to decide on the course of treatment.
Prasad, who was kept in a VIP room in the hospital's old private ward, wrote to the hospital director, saying that he should not be discharged from AIIMS, Delhi, and sent back to RIMS which, he believed, did not have the facilities required for his treatment.
Citing various ailments such as heart problems, diabetes, kidney infection, high blood pressure, the RJD supremo, in his letter to the director, said doctors should not act under pressure from "certain individuals or political parties".
Urging the AIIMS director to allow him to continue his treatment at the institute till he recovered, Prasad said in a recent letter the AIIMS administration would be held responsible if anything happened to him after he was sent back to the hospital in Ranchi.
His party MP Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav alleged that AIIMS appeared to be acting under the pressure of central agencies such as the CBI.
"It seems there is a conspiracy to murder him. Why are they discharging him when he is not fit yet," Yadav asked.
The former Bihar chief minister has been convicted in four fodder scam cases since 2013 -- the latest being the Dumka treasury case, in which a special CBI court sentenced him to 14 years in jail.
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