New Delhi: Activist and poet Varavara Rao, who is currently in jail in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case, has been found positive for coronavirus.
He is currently undergoing treatment, said Dr Ranjeet Mankeshwar, dean of JJ Hospital, adding that ” he is stable and will be shifted to another hospital”. Mankeshwar said that he will be shifted to a designated COVID-19 hospital as JJ Hospital is a non-COVID centre.
Rao, 80, has been behind bars for almost two years and lodged at the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.
The family members of the activist had expressed their concerns about his declining health in the past.
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The Human Rights Defenders Alert
wrote a letter to the NHRC over the health condition of Varavara Rao in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital.
The letter said that the poet-activist took time to recognize his family members and added, “The family was told by the nurses that no equipment or treatment was given in the transit ward to the patient. When his nephew tried to change his urine-soaked bed sheets, the family was thrown out by the hospital staff.”
