Kanhaiya Kumar suffers mild dehydration, stable

Doctors urged him to end his protest after his ketone level rose to 'dangerous' levels, fellow student Umar Khalid said

The condition of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who was admitted to AIIMS on Thursday afternoon following "mild dehydration" during his ongoing hunger strike, was stable, doctors said.

According to the hospital authorities, Kanhaiya Kumar was undergoing necessary treatment at the emergency department.

"There is nothing to worry as nothing serious has happened to him. It was just a mild dehydration," said a statement from AIIMS.

Kanhaiya Kumar and 19 other students have been on a hunger strike since April 28 to protest against the punishment handed out to them by a high-level committee that probed the February 9 event on the campus.

Anti-national slogans were allegedly raised at an event on the JNU campus on February 9 to commemorate executed parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, following which Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested on sedition charges.

The committee report, which was released on April 25, fined Kanhaiya Kumar Rs.10,000 and rusticated Khalid and Bhattacharya for one semester each.

Earlier, Kanhaiya Kumar refused to end his protest fast despite doctors' appeals after his health deteriorated.

Doctors urged him to end his protest after his ketone level rose to "dangerous" levels, fellow student Khalid said.

"Kanhaiya continues his hunger strike. He was given saline without glucose," said Khalid, who is also among the 19 students on hunger strike.

Khalid said Kanhaiya Kumar slipped into a semi-conscious state and started vomitting on Thursday morning after which he was admitted to the JNU health centre.

"There is a possibility of internal damage to (his) organs," he said.

"The health of the rest of the students is also deteriorating fast. All students have lost around 4-6 kg of weight," Khalid told IANS.

He said the JNU administration has not moved even after eight days of the "indefinite hunger strike".

Khalid said the ketone level of other students was also dangerously high, meaning their bodies had started burning fats for energy as they have not eaten anything for eight days.

On Wednesday, 170 JNU teachers joined the protesting students on a day's hunger strike in solidarity.