Varavara Rao tests positive for Covid-19

[Kool_SRG]

Dr Ranjit Mankeshwar, the dean of JJ Hospital said, "He has shown no symptoms of Covid-19 so far. He has no breathing difficulty and is stable. We will soon shift him to a covid hospital."

 

Poet-activist Varavara Rao has tested positive for Covid-19. The 80-year old, named as accused in the Elgar Parishad case, was shifted to state-run JJ Hospital from Taloja central jail where he was lodged after he complained of dizziness. The hospital conducted tests including one for Covid-19 the results for which confirmed that he is positive.

Dr Ranjit Mankeshwar, the dean of JJ Hospital, said, “He has shown no symptoms of Covid-19 so far. He has no breathing difficulty and is stable. We will soon shift him to a Covid hospital.” Rao is likely to be shifted to St George hospital.

 

Last week, Rao’s family had held a press conference after receiving a call from him from prison. His family had then said that his condition was deteriorating and he should be provided immediate medical aid. He was earlier shifted to the hospital when he fell unconscious in jail in May but was discharged within three days. The family had said that he was not provided proper medical treatment.

 

Last month, a special court had rejected his interim bail plea where he had cited his susceptibility to the virus due to his age and other medical conditions. The court, however, had said the superintendent of prison has been directed to take appropriate measures in such cases where medical attention is required. Before he was shifted to the hospital on Tuesday, Rao was admitted to the hospital ward of the jail and as he had been unable to do basic chores without depending on other inmates.

An appeal against the special court’s order is pending before the Bombay High Court. The plea is likely to be heard tomorrow.

Provide treatment to Dr GN Saibaba: NPRD

The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) has condemned “the insensitive manner in which the governments at the Centre and Maharashtra are dealing with jailed human rights activists”.

A statement signed by Muralidharan, general secretary of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), says: “Particularly deplorable is the handling of prisoners like Prof. GN Saibaba, violating all international conventions, as also domestic laws like the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, prison manuals etc. A person with 90 per cent disability, Dr. Saibaba has 19 serious health conditions, some of which are life threatening.”

Prof Saibaba is lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail over alleged Maoist links.

“Given the utterly deplorable conditions and overcrowding in the Nagpur Central Jail, were many guards and prisoners (one even close to his cell) have been infected with the dreaded Covid-19, there is every possibility that he may get catch the virus. This may prove dangerous given his co-morbidities,” the statement adds.

“Given these circumstances, we demand upon the Central & Maharashtra governments to release him on bail immediately for facilitating his treatment at a facility of his choice,” it says.

[Picheshwar]

Gauhati jail lo too many positive cases. Still no action from authorities 

[Kool_SRG]

Telugu poet Varavara Rao, who tested COVID positive, moved to Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital for neurological treatment

Rao and nine other activists were arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, initially probed by the Pune Police and later transferred to the NIA

Mumbai: Poet and Elgar Parishad case accused Varavara Rao, a COVID-19 patient, was on Sunday shifted to the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai for neurological and urological treatment, an official said.

Rao, 80, was undergoing treatment at the state-run St George Hospital in south Mumbai since Thursday after being tested coronavirus positive.

During treatment for COVID-19, doctors found his condition to be stable but also observed he has neurological problems, the official said.

Neurologists from the state-run JJ hospital checked him on Friday and he was diagnosed as having delirium, a hospital official said.

Delirium is an acutely disturbed state of mind characterised by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence, occurring in intoxication, fever, and other disorders.

As he required neurological and urological treatment, he was shifted to the private Nanavati Hospital in the wee hours on Sunday, the official said.

While at St George hospital, Rao responded well to COVID-19 treatment and his chest X-Ray and ECG were normal, he said adding he also underwent a CT Scan.

Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad- Maoist links case, was admitted to the JJ Hospital on Monday and was later shifted to St George Hospital, after being tested coronavirus positive.

Lodged in the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai under judicial custody, Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital after his family members and several writers and activists asked Maharashtra government to immediately shift him to hospital for treatment, citing his deteriorating health condition.

Rao's Telangana-based family members had asked jail authorities to provide him immediate medical care, claiming that when he contacted them last week, he was in a "delirious state and hallucinating".

He is behind the bars for about 22 months and had approached the special NIA court, seeking bail on medical grounds and the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

On Monday, he filed two petitions in the Bombay High Court, seeking temporary bail owing to his ill-health and a direction to the jail authorities to produce his medical records and admit him to a state-run or private hospital.

Rao and nine other activists were arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, which was initially probed by the Pune Police and later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).