Nearly seven days after a special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court in Lucknow asked the Mathura prison to ensure “proper treatment” of Campus Front of India national leader Atiq-ur-Rahman, who was sent back to jail after he suffered a cardiac and respiratory disorder, jail authorities said they’ve decided to take him to AIIMS-Delhi for a checkup.
Rahman who is also a Ph.D. scholar at Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut was arrested in October 2020 along with three others- journalist Siddique Kappan, Campus Front of India (CFI) office-bearer and Jamia Millia Islamia student Masood Ahmad and the cab driver Mohammad Alam while they were on their way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to report on the rape and killing of a Dalit woman by upper-caste Hindu men which had triggered nationwide outrage and to visit the family members of deceased.
They were booked under various sections of the IPC, but these charges were dropped by a Mathura court on grounds that the police failed to complete the inquiry against them within the prescribed period. However, all of them remain in jail due to charges under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
According to the Times of India, Rahman was being taken to the PMLA court for a hearing when he got sick. He was taken to a community health center, from where he was sent to the district hospital in Agra and then to SN Medical College, Agra. Though the doctors there referred him to a higher center — SGPGI (Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science) in Lucknow or AIIMS in Delhi, authorities took him back to jail instead.
Now, the DG Prisons UP has issued an order to take him to AIIMS, one week after the PMLA court in Lucknow asked authorities to ensure that Rahman gets the right treatment and is moved to a higher center if needed, TOI reported.
“The order has been issued but its written copy is yet to be received. We will send him there as soon as we get the order, which should be by Thursday or Friday,” jail superintendent Brijesh Kumar told the newspaper.
Atiq suffers from Aortic regurgitation- a cardiac problem that develops when the aortic valve in the heart does not shut securely enough. Heart failure is the most dangerous consequence that might occur as a result of this condition. He has visited hospitals in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Aligarh, and AIIMS in Delhi, seeking treatment for this condition.
“A month before his arrest, an AIIMS doctor had advised him to have a Bentall procedure to replace his aortic valve. That’s why we filed a plea for him to be released on interim bail for 60 days so he could get the surgery done,” Mateen- Atiq’s brother earlier told Maktoob.
He said to Maktoob that Rahman’s father-in-law Sakhawat Khan had written to District Magistrate about his condition, requesting that Rahman be “provided urgent medical treatment at AIIMS or an equivalent centre” and moved the special PMLA court over it.
Earlier, raising serious concerns about the health of Rahman in UP prison, the family alleged that the negligence from the side of the court and cops could be fatal to his life.
