Indrani Discharged from Hospital After Treatment for Drug Overdose

This is Mukerjea’s second such hospitalisation since she was jailed.

The Quint
India
Updated:
Indrani Mukerjea was brought to the hospital in a “drowsy’ state on Friday night.
i
Indrani Mukerjea was brought to the hospital in a “drowsy’ state on Friday night.
(Photo: PTI)

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Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive arrested in connection with her daughter Sheena Bora’s murder, has been discharged from the JJ Hospital in Byculla, Mumbai on Wednesday, 11 April, where she was undergoing treatment for an alleged case of drug overdose.

Mukerjea is likely to make a statement in relation to her alleged drug overdose episode.

This development comes a day after a special CBI court in Mumbai granted permission to Mukerjea’s lawyer to meet her in the hospital, reported Times of India.

Indrani Overdosed on Non-Prescribed Anti-Depressant: JJ Hospital

The doctors of Mumbai’s JJ Hospital had stated on Tuesday, 10 April, that Mukerjea had overdosed on an anti-depressant not prescribed to her.

She had been admitted in a “semi-conscious” state to JJ Hospital on 6 April. The report added that while her condition seemed to be mostly stable on Sunday, she had developed pneumonia fever.

"The reports of her urine sample showed a significant increase in the level of benzodiazepine, a class of anti-depressants," a doctor from the J J Hospital told PTI, quoting reports of the Forensic Science Laboratory at Kalina submitted on Monday night.

The anti-depressant prescribed to Indrani was amitriptyline, reported PTI, which the doctor said "does not belong to the benzodiazepine class of drugs."

How she had an overdose of it (benzodiazepine) will be investigated by the police. Though doctors prescribe the medicine, it is always administered by the jail staff.
Doctor from JJ Hospital

Police to Probe Mukerjea’s Illness in Jail

“She is conscious, responsive, cooperative, and obeying commands. She is much better and not on life-support or ventilatory support,” Dr Wiqar Shaikh, her treating physician at JJ Hospital, had earlier told The Times of India.

However, he had mentioned that Mukerjea had not revealed to him what drug she had taken and how she had consumed it. He had also said that on a regular basis, Mukerjea takes three pills everyday.

She takes an antidepressant, a medicine for the chronic ischemic changes in brain vessels and one for blood pressure. I have clearly instructed the jail officials to administer the drugs and not hand them over to her.
Dr Wiqar Shaikh to <i>The Times of India</i>

The Mumbai police will also look into how Mukerjea had managed to fall unwell inside the premise of the jail.

“Detailed inquiry ordered into how Indrani Mukerjea fell ill in Byculla Jail. IG Prisons asked to conduct the inquiry,” Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) told ANI.

Mukerjea, 46, currently lodged in Byculla jail in south Mumbai under judicial custody, had been admitted in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the state-run hospital.

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Second Episode of Hospitalisation Since Jail Term

Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent of the health facility, said that Mukerjea was admitted at around 11:15 pm on 6 April. She is under the supervision of Wiqar Shaikh, Surase told PTI.

"Her vitals are stable. She has undergone a series of medical tests, including CT scan and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and their reports are awaited," Surase said.

Mukherjee has undergone an array of tests in the past including liver and kidney function tests, CT scan of her brain and an ultrasound of her abdomen among others, NDTV reported.

This is Mukerjea’s second such hospitalisation since she was jailed. Mukerjea was admitted to the hospital twice in October 2015. First in early October when she collapsed in the prison. She was again admitted to the hospital in October-end after her platelet levels dropped, PTI reported.

The Byculla prison superintendent found out that she suffered from “blackouts, lost substantial amount of weight and suffered from fluctuating blood pressure levels”, The Times of India reported.

The former co-founder of INX Media, arrested in August 2015, is facing trial in the Sheena Bora murder case. She is the prime accused along with her husband and ex-media tycoon Peter Mukerjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna.

Bora was abducted and murdered in 2012, allegedly by her mother, Indrani's ex husband Sanjeev Khanna, driver Shyamvar Rai in conspiracy with Peter Mukerjea. The murder case was initially handled by the Mumbai Police and later transfered to the CBI.

(With inputs from PTI, NDTV )

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Published: 07 Apr 2018,02:17 PM IST

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