Court orders urgent treatment to jailed Bhim Army chief

A Delhi court directed the Tihar jail authorities on Wednesday to provide urgent medial treatment to Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, arrested in connection with violence during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest in old Delhi's Daryaganj area, his lawyer said.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arul Verma passed the directions in an interim order and put up the mater for detailed hearing on Thursday.

In a brief hearing on Wednesday, the jail authorities sought time to file Azad's medical report in response to his application seeking treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital, said advocate Mehmood Pracha, who represented Azad.

The application claimed that Azad was suffering from polucythemia, a disorder of blood thickness, and "requires continuous checkup from the doctors concerned from AIIMS, who are supervising his treatment for a long time".

If the treatment was not provided urgently to Azad, it might lead to cardiac arrest, the application stated.

The Bhim Army chief was sent to judicial custody on December 21 by a Delhi court.

Azad's outfit had organised a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended Citizenship Act on December 20, despite not having police permission.

The marching protesters were stopped by the police and paramilitary personnel near the Delhi Gate, after which they turned violent, setting a car on fire and damaging a few other vehicles. The police had resorted to lathicharge and used a water cannon to control the situation.