Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday told the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court that “he has almost lost his left kidney and is required to be kept in a clean and hygienic environment
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday told the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court that “he has almost lost his left kidney and is required to be kept in a clean and hygienic environment.”
Malik’s statement came in response to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) allegations that he was taking undue advantage of the lenient view taken by the court allowing him to take treatment in a private hospital and that he was unnecessarily prolonging his treatment so that he could remain out of jail and impede the progress of investigation.
The ED’s application filed last week also sought the court’s directions to constitute a medical board to verify the former minister’s health condition.
Malik, who remains in CritiCare Asia Hospital in Kurla, on Tuesday submitted his reply through his lawyers Taraq Sayyed and Kushal Mor.
He said there was no question of sending him back to JJ Hospital as he had not been able to receive proper medical treatment at Arthur Road jail or JJ Hospital. “In view of the incorrect medical advice and the painkillers given to the accused, his medical condition has aggravated.”
About the allegation that the ED has no information on his health condition, he said the superintendent of Arthur Road jail has been filing the weekly case summary report, provided by CritiCare Asia Hospital, before the special court.
The NCP leader said “he is suffering from numerous ailments, particularly related to kidney, and he is a diabetic. The health of the accused has deteriorated to the extent that one of his kidneys is barely functioning. Even the right kidney is required to be protected as the functioning thereof is also deteriorating. The cause of repeated haematuria [presence of blood in the urine] is also required to be investigated.”
He further said that he was scheduled to undergo a renal scan on August 10. However, he developed high fever and there were pus cells as well as high creatinine level in his urine, and he was told that until the vitals returned to normal the scan could not be done. “He was taken for renal scan only after a month on September 12.”
“The renal scan [DTPA] report revealed very poor functioning of the left kidney with glomerular filtration rate [GFR] of 8 mL/min i.e. the key indicator of renal function, which is generally estimated to be at least 85 mL/min for a man in the age group of 60-69. GFR less than 15 is an indication of kidney failure. The accused is required to be kept in a clean, sanitised and hygienic environment, avoiding contact with contaminated facilities and away from crowds. Any deprivation of adequate medical care would amount to a grave and irreparable infraction of the rights of the accused,” the reply said.
Malik was arrested by the ED on February 23 in connection with a money-laundering case registered on February 14 against gangster Dawood Ibrahim and some of his close aides. The case was based on an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency on February 3. Malik is accused of indirectly funding the gang activities by usurping a prime piece of land in Kurla with the help of Dawood’s late sister, Hasina Parkar.
