1988 road rage case: Navjot Singh Sidhu to get special diet in jail due to health conditions

Serving his yearlong rigorous imprisonment sentence in Patiala jail, former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu will reportedly be put on a special diet due to health conditions after being examined by a medical panel on Monday.

Sidhu, who is in jail in connection with a 1988 road rage case involving the death of a man had earlier requested to be put on a special diet instead of the regular food served in jail, citing medical conditions. Following his request, the cricketer-turned-politician was taken to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala under heavy security. At the facility, Sidhu underwent several medical tests and a detailed examination by a board of doctors, his counsel HPS Verma said.  

Special diet for Sidhu at Patiala jail

As per Verma, Sidhu has to avoid consumption of some food items including wheat, sugar and 'maida'. The counsel said that Sidhu can have “berries, papaya, guava, double-toned milk and food items which do not have fibre and carbohydrates.”

Navjot Singh Sidhu had reportedly refused to consume the food served in the jail and had not been eating anything apart from his daily medicines since his arrival in jail. He was given a meal of dal-roti on Saturday but did not eat it, DNA sister outlet Zee News English reported citing Patiala jail sources.

A special high-fiber and low-fat diet has been recommended for Sidhu. This will include fruits and boiled vegetables, Hindustan Times reported citing sources at Rajindra Hospital. The medical board that examined Sidhu has also advised that he not be given ‘atta’ and ‘maida’. The report from the medical examination is with the jail superintendent and is expected to be presented before the chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday.

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Sidhu’s medical conditions

The Congress leader is suffering from health condition called embolism and also is ailing with a liver condition. He was also treated for acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition caused by blood clot in a deep vein obstructing normal blood flow, at a Delhi hospital back in 2015.

Sidhu has been in Patiala central jail since May 20 after surrendering before a local court following Supreme Court’s one-year rigorous imprisonment sentence in a 34-year-old road rage case.