Sunday, April 23 2006 11:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The condition of BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan continues to be critical a day after he was shot at by his youngest brother Praveen.

Mahajan has been put on ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hinduja Hospital here and his condition was critical, hospital sources said.

Hospital authorities will issue a health bulletin on his condition at 10:30 am. They had announced last night that certain investigations are to be carried out on the BJP leader. The reasons for these investigations would be known today (Apr 23, 2006) in the morning bulletin, sources said.

Three bullets which hit Mahajan are still lodged in his body and have not been removed. The bullets have damaged his vital organs like liver, pancreas, small intestine besides the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC), the main vein carrying blood to the heart.

BJP has organised special prayer

BJP has organised special prayers for their leader in all the districts and party workers have been asked to pray for Mahajan's speedy recovery. BJP workers continued to pour in at the hospital in large numbers and police have put up a barricade to regulate people's movement and vehicular traffic.

A stream of personalities, including senior BJP leader L K Advani, Union Minister Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thakerey, Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh (Maharashtra), Vijaya Raje Scindia (Rajasthan) and BJP President Rajnath Singh visited the hospital yesterday.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is expected to visit the hospital today. Police has made tight security arrangements at the hospital in view of his visit.

Praveen Mahajan, who has been arrested on the charges of attempt to murder will be produced before a Magistrate today. He had given a statement to police yesterday that he had shot at Mahajan in a fit of rage.