Former Union minister Arun Shourie sustained a brain injury after he fainted and fell near his home in Lavasa and was admitted to a private hospital here in Maharashtra, a doctor said today.
Mr Shourie, 78, fell near his bungalow in Lavasa, a hill city some 60 kilometres from here, while out on a walk on Sunday night, leaving him bleeding and unconscious, he said.
"As it was a free fall, he received an injury on the back of his head. He was initially rushed to a hospital in Hinjewadi (on Pune's outskirts) and later shifted to Ruby Hall Clinic late Sunday night," said the hospital's neurosurgeon, Dr Sachin Gandhi, who is treating the former BJP leader.
"Due to the fall, there is an internal injury and swelling in the brain and he is currently in the ICU. He is, however, completely stable, responding (to treatment) and taking food."
"As of now there is no abnormality due to the injury," Dr Gandhi added.
He said, in medical terms, Mr Shourie's condition is called "cerebral concussion with brain hemorrhage" and it happened due to the injury caused by the free fall after he fainted.
"In CT (computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans, the bleeding and swelling inside his head is visible but he is improving," he said.
The journalist-turned-politician's family members are with him at the hospital. Mr Shourie, a former BJP Rajya Sabha member, was Union minister for communications, information technology and disinvestment in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government during 1999-2004.
A prolific writer and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, he also served as an economist with the World Bank during 1967- 1978.
Mr Shourie, who is based in New Delhi, held the post of editor of "The Indian Express" during his decades-long career in journalism.
Pune Crash Case: 2 Doctors, Hospital Staff Sent To Police Custody Till May 30 Video: Case Against BJP MLA Seen Slapping On-Duty Cop At Pune Hospital Fire At Scrapyard Near Pune Hospital, 19 Patients Evacuated Homeless Man, Carrying Knives, Shot Dead By Cops Outside Republican Event 4 Top Leaders Quit Ajit Pawar's Party In Major Setback After Poll Drubbing Karnataka's 100% Quota Bill For Kannadigas In Private Firms For These Posts Watch: Sun Unleashes Powerful Solar Flare, Australia And Japan Hit Mumbai University Invites Applications For MCA And MMS Courses Homeless Man, Carrying Knives, Shot Dead By Cops Outside Republican Event Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.