Kantipur Media Group Chairman Kaiash Sirohiya, who is in police custody since Tuesday, has been admitted to hospital after experiencing heart-related problems.

Sirohiya, who was arrested by Police on Tuesday from his Thapathali-based office and subsequently brought to Janakpur, has fallen sick since Thursday.

He was admitted to a hospital on Friday night after he had a headache, high blood pressure and fluctuating heartbeat.

According to Sirohiya’s lawyer Raman Karna, they had informed the police about his health problems but the condition deteriorated due to delay in medication.

“Family members had requested the police to send him to a hospital after he had headache, nausea and other heart problems,” Karna said. “But the police did nothing immediately. They brought him to Janakpur Province Hospital only after his condition became severe.”

But there was no facility for neurological and other tests. Then, he was shifted to Kavya Hospital. “We found some serious heart-related issues as he had already undergone an angiography in Mumbai as well,” Dr SK Sing at Kava Hospital said. “We have to conduct more tests after some time.”

According to family members, Sirohiya has had high blood pressure and diabetes issues for some years.

After finding some complications, doctors at Kava Hospital had consulted cardiologist Dr Om Murti Anil over telephone. Hospital officials said they are treating Sirohiya as per his advice.

Police arrested Sirohiya from his office at the KMG headquarters in Thapathali, Kathmandu on Tuesday. The security personnel subsequently brought him to Dhanusha, where a complaint was filed against him.

The Dhanusha District Court on Friday extended his remand by three days.

His arrest has drawn widespread condemnations from national as well as international media and rights bodies. On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the United States-based Society of Professional Journalists expressed their serious objections to the incident and termed the government action as vengeful.