JAMMU: Why do politicians, celebrities and other personalities fall ill soon after being taken into custody or land in jail for their acts of omission and commission, mainly corruption and other professional misconduct? The modus operandi of pretending to be ill is usually to avoid questioning, custody or confinement in a cell, depending on the state of affairs, pending decisions on their bail application. before the courts.
The exercise of obtaining consists in making pass the obligatory controls, known as “medical”, in legal language, of a person placed in police custody or police custody. Despite this, they resort to entering a top notch hospital after reporting “illnesses”. This scheme continues even when they land in jail after due process.
The disease syndrome has become so common that even ordinary people know how the politician or a VIP prisoner will behave once he is ordered to march to jail. Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee took to the wheelchair with his hands on his chest as detectives from the Directorate of Law Enforcement counted banknotes seized from his apartment “young woman”.
Pretending to be sick is the best option to avoid the prison walls.
Landing in prisons, faking ailments and being admitted to the best hospitals in the country is two-way traffic. In most cases, there is a complete bond between the inmates and the prison authorities, which allows high-level prisoners to jump the boundaries at four walls, which is why healthy prison birds find themselves victimized of a plethora of illnesses that require them to visit the best possible institutions and five-star private hospitals.
Every prison has MI rooms with doctors who attend to inmates’ medical emergencies, but in the case of the VIPs, they find these internal facilities to be quite inadequate.
Famous cop, then head of Delhi’s Tihar prison, Kiran Bedi has publicly stated, “I would always make sure that the local doctor at the hospital attached to the prison tests them (VIP prisoners) first. Also, we did not allow any staff member to be intimidated by their fame. We responded on a case-by-case basis. The powerful know that we would not fall into line or be controlled by them. We did not rush (the prisoners) to AIIMS. We went to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital across the street. Bedi was absolutely right in his sense of discretion. This must be imitated in all prisons. After all, the Center and the state governments have spent huge funds to create health infrastructure, which certainly meets the needs of the entire population of the country. Why should VIP prisoners be given special treatment in the best possible facilities and that too for false ailments? There is a need for reforms, which will probably not come from governments. The judiciary must master and examine this aspect. Those looking to resort to hospitals to avoid prison stints should, in fact, be referred to local hospitals, which lack good toilets, proper hygiene and sanitation to leave them with a bitter taste of what which they left to ordinary Indians while enjoying the power lobes. Referral should be at the discretion of the medical superintendent or appropriate licensed physician based on the medical conditions the VIP inmate is suffering from. This actually happened only two days ago when AIIMS Bhubaneswar carried out the check of the high level Minister of Mamata Banerjee, Partha, on the instructions of the High Court in Calcutta and fired him after observing that although he suffered from several chronic illnesses, hospitalization is not necessary at this time. The Investigation Officer (IO) of the Enforcement Directorate has received the reports for submission to the CH. This speaks to the growing trend of VIP prisoners going the hospital route to enjoy trend-mimicking privileges and comforts. His assistant Arpita Mukherji, currently in detention, also followed the trial and complained of having fallen ill.
VIP prisoners, of all colors, see hospitalization as their right. Even those involved in anti-national activities or waging war against the nation receive the best treatment possible in the best hospitals. From former Home Minister P Chidhambram to former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, almost every politician has been given the best treatment, with all expenses borne by the government. From Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasaab to Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah, etc., the doors of the best hospitals in the country have always remained open. No advance appointments, no waiting and no fees. All free.
VIPs, making disease, enjoy priority entry and health insurance at top hospitals like AIIMS, Fortis, Medanta, PGI where ordinary patients dream of getting even OPD consultations for months together. Some patients die in their long wait for specialized treatment. Successive governments have been so liberal in this country that when Syed Ali Geelani was refused entry by the United States for having been the protagonist of violence as a means of achieving political ends, the Indian government, which was at the end of his tantrums, felt ‘only obligated’ if he was happy to agree to undergo treatment at a top hospital in Mumbai. And the late Geelani obliged them.
This is how the criminal ecosystem works in the country. VIPs and celebrities will continue to have the best of both worlds unless a drastic course correction is undertaken. Who’s gonna do it ?
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