According to doctors of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s kidney efficiency has shot down to 25 per cent on Saturday. They added that the state-run hospital had sent a detailed report on his health condition to Jharkhand High Court.

“The efficiency of his (Lalu’s) kidney is alarmingly poor. He has several other ailments like diabetes and cardiac problems, which make his condition worse,” said Dr Umesh Prasad, who has been treating Lalu at RIMS.

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday deferred a hearing on Lalu’s bail plea for the second time in a span of six weeks. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has demanded for Lalu to be shifted to the Birsa Munda Central Jail from the paying ward of RIMS so he could serve the remaining period of his jail term as a prisoner.

“He (Lalu) needs proper medical care. We may have to put him on dialysis if the condition of his kidneys doesn’t improve,” said Dr Prasad. He refused to comment on the judicial proceedings of the fodder scam case, for which Lalu has been jailed.

As per the jail manual, three visitors - former union minister Subodh Kant Sahai and two RJD MLAs from Bihar – Vinay Yadav and Rakesh Kumar Roshan, met Lalu at the paying ward of RIMS on Saturday and had a brief interaction with him. However, the hospital administration did not allow Roshan’s wife Manju Devi to meet Lalu.

“Laluji’s supporters should be allowed to meet him twice a week. Since only three people are allowed to visit him every Saturday, many supporters like me have to return home disappointed,” said Devi.

Islampur MLA Roshan said that Lalu’s condition was deteriorating on a daily basis. Roshan said that he visited Lalu to seek his blessings after winning in the recently held Bihar elections.

A CBI court on December 23, 2017 convicted Lalu in the fodder scam case related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89 lakh from the Deoghar treasury between the years 1991 to 1994. A month later, he was convicted in another fodder scam case, for which he was granted five years of imprisonment.

A year after his arrest he was admitted in the cardiology wing of RIMS, after complaining of discomfort while serving imprisonment in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. Since then, he has been undergoing treatment at the hospital.

In 2018, he was referred to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi from where he was later discharged and sent back to Ranchi.