After month-long stay in private hospital, Chhagan Bhujbal sent back to JJ Hospital

MUMBAI: After spending over a month in a private hospital, former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbhal, who was arrested in a multi-crore money-laundering case, returned to state-run JJ Hospital on Wednesday. His ‘exit’ from Bombay Hospital in New Marine Lines came after a court direction.
JJ Hospital dean Dr T P Lahane said Bhujbal would undergo an angiography in the next few days. “Around 7.30pm, Bhujbal was admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit in the cardiology department,” he said.
Bhujbal was arrested in March, but managed to stay in various hospitals for almost two months citing health reasons. This time around, there was an outcry over the jailed politician staying on in Bombay Hospital after being shifted there from JJ Hospital for a thallium scan on November 2. The test, along with two other heart tests, were recommended by a JJ team to ascertain the reasons for his low heart rate. While Holter monitor and electrophysiology tests were performed in JJ Hospital, it didn’t have a thallium scan that needs a nuclear medicine department.
A senior jail official said, “We obtained a court order. Our say was that he (Bhujbal) be transferred to JJ Hospital for further treatment. Court accepted our way and ordered to tra-nsfer him there.” Now, his tests and medical examinations will be conducted in JJ Hospital.
Political activist Anjali Damania said, “JJ Hospital and jail authorities had adopted a lethargic approach in the issue for Bhujbal’s comfort at Bombay Hospital. We have collected his treatment-related papers and will submit it before the court on Thursday.” Damania recently submitted a complaint to income-tax authority seeking to book Bhujbal and his kin under the newly amended Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act.