BOMBAY, 24 April 2006 — The condition of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Pramod Mahajan worsened yesterday after undergoing an emergency kidney surgery at the P.D. Hinduja Hospital here.
The condition of Mahajan, 56, suddenly deteriorated late yesterday evening and he was taken to the operation theater for a procedure to remove excess fluid from his kidneys.
Among the doctors attending on him was, Mohammad Rela, a kidney specialist from Britain who flew in yesterday. The hospital was expected to issue a bulletin on his health later in the night.
Earlier yesterday, Mahajan showed some signs of consciousness even as his condition continued to be “quite critical,” a day after being shot by his younger brother Pravin Mahajan.
“The condition of Pramod Mahajan has slightly improved but still remains quite critical,” said Anupam Verma, spokesperson of the hospital, where the former central minister who held key portfolios in prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government was battling for his life.
“He is on the life support system in the intensive care unit. The bleeding from the liver seems to have slowed down but the kidney function remains poor,” Verma told media persons.
Doctors had put the 56-year-old highprofile politician on a ventilator after a fourhour operation Saturday, but were unable to extricate the three bullets fired from his brother’s revolver.
According to Verma, Mahajan was also showing some signs of consciousness.
“There are specific signs of consciousness like blinking of eyes and moving of hands,” he said.
The hospital said the priority for the doctors treating Mahajan was to stabilize his condition first before deciding the next course of action.
Meanwhile, Pravin Mahajan was produced by the police in a court yesterday for initiating charges against him in the bizarre shootout and was remanded to police custody till April 29. Pravin, youngest of the three Mahajan brothers, was taken for a medical check to the government-run J.J. Hospital hours after he shot at Mahajan from close range at the latter’s Worli residence Saturday. The provocation for the attack remains a mystery, but police are now saying the youngest Mahajan sibling felt “neglected and humiliated” at the hands of his more famous brother.
— With input from agencies
