Amar Singh will spend weekend in jail, had refused blood test

New Delhi: Amar Singh will spend the weekend in Tihar Jail; he has applied for bail on the grounds that he is seriously unwell; a Delhi court will continue hearing his case on Monday, when jail officials will share the results of a series of medical tests that have been conducted on the politician. Mr Singh had refused give his blood sample to jail officials; he finally agreed to do so this morning.

Mr Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, was arrested earlier this week for allegedly bribing three BJP MPs to support the Government during a trust vote in July 2008.

Mr Singh had a kidney transplant last year; he says being in Tihar Jail makes him vulnerable to infection. The judge hearing his case was not satisfied with the documents submitted earlier this week by his lawyers, and had asked for complete medical records. The policemen assigned to present those papers in court said they were stuck in one of Delhi's many jams caused by heavy rain this morning; they faxed some reports to the court.

Jail officials said today that Mr Singh has been kept in a separate cell under hygienic conditions. The politician has been kept in Ward No 4 of Jail No 3 which has 20 cells each measuring 22x8 feet. Each cell has its own separate toilet and bathroom.