A Rs 2-crore high-security ward in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital built
for Ajmal Kasab but never used by him is part of the Maharashtra government’s
expenses on the 26/11 terrorist.
The bullet-proof ward was set up in 2008 — not long after
Kasab was injured in the gun battle leading up to his capture — is on the third
floor of the hospital. The government’s total expenses on him stand at over Rs
29 crore.
Doctors from the hospital in south Mumbai attended to the
Pakistani in his special cell inside Arthur Road prison regularly.
According to hospital authorities, Kasab had been treated by
a surgeon, physician, psychiatrist and a skin specialist in the past four years
before his execution yesterday.
The special JJ ward was not used because of security problems
involved in shifting a high-profile suspect from the jail to the hospital, 6km
away, officials said.
Dr T.P. Lahane, the hospital dean, said the ward, which could
hold 15-20 patients, was now being used for other prisoners.
“Since he (Kasab) never needed it, we took permission from
the government and have been using it for other prisoners in the past few
months,” he said.
Kasab was put under psychiatric care during his first year as
he showed signs of depression, for which he was given medication. He also
suffered from hypertension, umbilical hernia and skin infection.
Earlier this month, after suffering high fever for a few
days, Kasab was put through tests in his jail cell. “He had tested positive for
dengue and we had treated him for five days,” Lahane said.
A team of doctors had last checked him on November 17, five
days before he was hanged. “We checked his blood pressure level, blood, chest
and ECG. Everything was normal,” Lahane said. The doctors conducted the tests
as routine check-up as they had not been told of his impending execution.
Earlier, prisoners taken to JJ were treated in a ward in
another department, taking up more area than required in the space-crunched hospital.
The high-security court prepared inside the Arthur Road
prison premises for the 26/11 trial too will be utilised for other purposes,
jail officials said.
