Indrani Mukerjea drug overdose: Now court bars Peter from eating outside food

Indrani was discharged around 12.45 pm yesterday. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

A teary Indrani Mukerjea was discharged from the CCU of JJ hospital last afternoon, five days after she was rushed there for drug overdose on Friday night. With prison officials hinting that she may have ingested the drugs outside jail, Indrani's fellow accused - husband Peter and ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna - have also been barred from eating food from outside the prison. Heavy police bandobast was deployed to keep the media at bay while Indrani was brought out on a wheelchair. She was taken straight to the police van, which was then escorted back to Byculla jail.

Doctors say
According to doctors attached to JJ hospital, "Indrani was unaware of the discharge plan until 11 am, when she was officially informed about it. Apart from the medicine unit, the neurology and psychiatry departments also completed their evaluations and found her fit for discharge. Her discharge card stated 'drug overdose and aspiration pneumonia' as the diagnosis."

Doctors added that further psychiatric evaluation will be done by the visiting psychiatrist at the prison. Indrani was under the treatment and care of Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of medicine and head of medical unit V. He expressed relief that he could diagnose the case immediately and give her appropriate treatment. He further said that he was pleased that she could be sent back to prison in good health.

No outside food
Meanwhile, the special CBI court room No 51, which is hearing the Sheena Bora murder case on a daily basis, called in Peter and Sanjeev to the witness box and enquired about the food they had from outside on Friday. The court ordered that they should not eat any food from outside, and the escorting police team were instructed not to allow anyone to give food to them either. Further, the police were directed not to allow anyone to approach or speak to them during their hearing.

Home food for Peter
Advocate Shreyansh Mithare, who represents Sanjeev, confirmed the court's directions. He added that his client and Peter made a submission to him, stating that they be allowed to eat their lunch inside the courtroom. Mithare conveyed the same to the court, and they were granted permission to eat in the courtroom, and not in the court corridor.

When asked whether this meant Peter would no longer receive home food at Arthur Road jail, the lawyer replied in the negative. "Peter will continue to get home food, as he had already obtained an order from the court for the same," he said.

Cop speak
Rajvardhan Sinha, deputy inspector general (South Region), said, "Upon completion of our enquiry, we will know if Indrani had anything inside the jail or outside." When asked if the jail administration will allow Indrani to attend court proceedings through video conferencing, Sinha stated that the option was open, and they would look into it once their probe ends.

Also Read: Indrani Mukerjea: My Life Is In Danger After Testifying Against Chidambarams

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