Arvind Kejriwal given insulin after spike in sugar level: Tihar jail officials

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been administered a "low dose" of insulin after his blood sugar level spiked, officials of Tihar jail said on Tuesday, 23 April.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) welcomed this news received on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti and said the development was the result of the blessings of the deity. 

Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi said in a post on X in Hindi, "Jai Bajrang Bali! Good news received on Hanuman Jayanti. Tihar administration finally gave insulin to Arvind Kejriwal ji. This is the result of the blessings of Hanuman ji and the struggle of the people of Delhi. Even in this time of struggle, the blessings of Bajrang Bali remain on all of us."

Her cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the officials were deliberately not giving Kejriwal insulin.

"Today it became clear that the chief minister was right, he needed insulin. But the officials under the BJP-led Centre were deliberately not treating him. Tell me BJP people! If there was no need for insulin, why are they giving it now? Because the whole world is cursing them," he said in a post on X in Hindi.

According to a Tihar official, Kejriwal was given two units of low dose insulin on Monday evening, 22 April on the advice of AIIMS doctors.

His blood sugar level reading was found to be 217 around 7 pm, following which the doctors at Tihar looking after him decided to give him the insulin, the official said. 

AIIMS specialists, during a video conference with the chief minister on 20 April , had advised Tihar doctors that insulin could be given to him if his sugar level crosses a certain level, he added.

The Delhi chief minister was arrested on 21March by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government''s now-scrapped excise policy. He is lodged in Tihar jail since 1 April.