Sanjay Raut was arrested in 2022 in connection with the Patra Chawl land case and was released from Arthur Road Jail after 101 days after being granted bail.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has made a shocking claim that he suspected his cancer may have been linked to the time he spent in jail and said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suggested that he undergo a toxicity test to check whether poison had been added to his food.
While speaking to reporters on Saturday, the senior Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the current government was “so cruel” that it could go to any extent against those who oppose it.
“Rahul Gandhi also suspected that anything can happen to people like us in jail,” Raut claimed as quoted by news agency PTI.
“The (cancer) disease started in the jail,” he alleged.
According to Raut, Rahul Gandhi had advised him to get a toxicity test to determine whether his food had been contaminated.
“Rahul ji had asked me to get a toxicity test done to ascertain if poison was added to food,” Raut said.
He further claimed that political leaders who had spent time in jail were facing health problems.
Raut also alleged that authorities could tamper with food or water in prison.
“There is a possibility in jail (that it can happen with) people like us who raise our voice against the government,” he said, adding that Gandhi had warned them that such a situation could occur.
Raut was arrested on August 1, 2022, in connection with the Patra Chawl land case and was released from Arthur Road Jail on November 9, 2022, after 101 days after being granted bail.
He later documented his prison experiences in his book Narkatla Swarg (Heaven in Hell).
Raut has said he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in Nov 2025 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment at home and in hospital.
