A visit by police officials to the ward of the RIMS, where RJD president Lalu Yadav has been staying after being convicted in fodder scam cases, has triggered speculation in the media as to whether Lalu Yadav will be shifted to another floor of the hospital on security grounds.
The police team had paid a visit to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief's ward in the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) on Monday.
"It was a routine visit," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Sadar) Deepak Pandey told PTI on Wednesday when asked whether Lalu Yadav would be shifted to any other floor of his paying ward on security grounds.
"No, it is nothing like that and we cannot openly discuss security matters," he said.
Lalu Yadav, who is serving prison terms following his conviction in the fodder scam cases, is undergoing treatment at the RIMS for various ailments.
His health condition was stable now, one of the attending doctors said.
A close associate of Lalu Yadav alleged that the police visit was part of the efforts by the state officials to put pressure on the RIMS authorities to shift the RJD chief to some other floor where those, who came to visit the other occupants of the ward and on seeing Lalu Yadav, offered "namaskar" to him and briefly interacted with him, were prevented from doing so.
Sources in the RIMS said the RJD chief was staying on the first floor of the paying private ward. Speculation is that he may be shifted to the second or third floor of the building.
Lalu Yadav's associate, on the condition of anonymity, alleged that since the first floor had an open verandah where the leader sat during the day in the winter chill, the officials, on directions from the higher-ups, seemed interested in denying him the facility.
He further alleged that the sole objective of the district administration appeared to be to harass him on one pretext or the other.
He claimed that despite permission from the doctors, the security personnel posted at the ward were not allowing green vegetables or prawns inside, which the ailing RJD president requested for on grounds of his health.
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