New Delhi: The Indian Association of Physiotherapists has refuted the claims of physiotherapy being given to jailed Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and also demanded an apology for “degrading physiotherapy”.
This comes after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday claimed that the CCTV footage that went viral showing Jain being given a full-body massage was a “treatment for injury”.
A CCTV video of Jain getting a full-body massage in Tihar Jail emerged on social media on Saturday morning – two days after demands to shift the minister from the prison were raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sisodia had accused the BJP of leaking the CCTV footage and said that the “physiotherapy” was because of a spinal injury.
“Only BJP can make cruel jokes by leaking CCTV footage of an injured person’s treatment… His (Satyendar Jain’s) spine was damaged, it’s on record,” he had said on Saturday.
Calling out the Minister, the Indian Association of Physiotherapists tweeted on Saturday, “IAP strongly condemns the statement of the minister degrading physiotherapy by comparing it with massage given to another minister. Shows the level of education and knowledge to them about our noble profession.”
In a video, the president of the association condemned the minister while also demanding an apology from him.
“There is news going on on social media and we have received many complaints from our members. Many physiotherapists all across India that in jail, and one physiotherapy session was given to a patient. And as a professor of physiotherapy and as president of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists, we can say that the session going on was not physiotherapy. It is a way of degrading physiotherapy. We strongly condemn this act. We want that the Minister or whosoever should apologise for that,” he said.
“I request all physiotherapists in India to write down to the news channels that please don’t degrade physiotherapy. This is not physiotherapy. Let’s condemn this act and let’s move in a direction where we can correct things,” the president added.
Earlier on Saturday, the former PRO of the Tihar jail said that it cannot be physiotherapy as the video clearly showed that co-inmates were giving him a massage.
Sunil Gupta, former PRO of the Tihar jail told ANI that the video makes it clear that other prisoners of the prison were giving the minister a massage.
“Massage is different from physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is given in physiotherapy wards in the hospital,” he said.
The purported CCTV footage dated September 13 shows the minister lying on his bed and reading some papers while a man sitting next to him is seen massaging his foot.
In another video, shared by BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on his official Twitter handle, a man is massaging the Delhi minister’s legs and back before proceeding to give him a full head massage.
“So instead of Sazaa – Satyendar Jain was getting full VVIP Mazaa? Massage inside Tihar Jail? Hawalabaaz who hasn’t got bail for 5 months get a head massage! Violation of rules in a jail run by AAP Govt,” Poonawalla tweeted along with a video.
“This is how official position abused for Vasooli and massage thanks to Kejriwal,” he added.
The videos surfaced on social media on Saturday, around 10 days after the ED accused Delhi minister Jain, who was arrested in a money laundering case, of getting special treatment inside the Tihar jail.
“Unknown persons gave massages and foot massages to Mr Jain, even beyond curfew hours. He was given special food,” the ED had said in the court. Soon after this, the Superintendent of Delhi’s Tihar jail, Ajit Kumar, was also suspended for the alleged VIP treatment of jailed Delhi minister.
The minister, Jain, was arrested and has been in jail since June in connection with a money laundering case, and a Delhi court also denied his bail application on Thursday.
Several BJP leaders shared the CCTV videos and criticized the Delhi minister and the AAP government. (ANI)
