The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November 2025, days before Diwali last year. He has previously spoken in interviews about undergoing painful chemotherapy and radiation treatment at home and in hospital.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday claimed that he may have been poisoned while in jail, alleging that it could have contributed to his stomach cancer. He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also raised the possibility and advised him to undergo a toxicity test.
Mr Raut said he began suspecting that the food served in jail may have caused his illness. According to him, Mr Gandhi expressed a similar apprehension about 10 days ago and advised him to get a toxicity test, warning that “anything can happen in prison to people like us”.
“The government is so cruel that it can do anything while in prison. Some other leaders’ health similarly deteriorated when they were in prison,” Mr Raut quoted Mr Gandhi as saying.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November 2025, days before Diwali last year. He has previously spoken in interviews about undergoing painful chemotherapy and radiation treatment at home and in hospital.
The senior MP spent 101 days in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail, from August 1 to November 9, 2022, in connection with the Patra Chawl redevelopment scam case. He later documented his prison experience in his memoir ‘Narkatla Swarga’ (Heaven in Hell). However, the memoir does not mention any allegation that his cancer was caused by poisoning.
Raut said he would soon undergo a toxicity test. He also alleged that the possibility of prisoners’ food or drinking water being tampered with could not be ruled out.
“The possibility of someone tampering with a prisoner’s food and drink while in jail cannot be ruled out. This suspicion is not limited to me alone; there may be similar concerns regarding many political and social activists held in prison. Since the government possesses the power and the machinery, anything can happen to the people fighting against the government inside prison,” he said.
Reacting to Raut’s claim, Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Gulabrao Patil said he was unaware of whether Raut had been poisoned.
“I do not know if he was ever poisoned. But after coming out of jail, he has been making a variety of claims. I also have to cross-check when Mr Gandhi became a doctor,” Patil said.
