Activist Gautam Navlakha, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has highlighted the “deplorable conditions” in a school turned into a quarantine facility in Maharashtra. Navlakha described the situation at the interim facility during a phone conversation with his partner, Sahba Hussain.
Last month, Navlakha was moved to the school in Raigad district’s Kharghar area from Tihar jail in Delhi during an exercise to quarantine prisoners before they are shifted to the Taloja central jail. This is an attempt to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus in the prisons.
In a letter to filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, which he posted on Facebook, Hussain said that she had spoken to Navlakha after 15 days. “He said that there are 350 inmates crowded into six classrooms in the building with Gautam having to share the room with 35 other inmates, many others sleeping in the corridors and passages,” Hussain wrote. “There are only 3 toilets, 7 urinals and a common bat[h]ing space without a bucket or a mug. He said that the congestion is such that apart from the fear of Covid-19, inmates are prone to skin infections too.”
Navlakha told Hussain there was no fresh air at the temporary facility as the inmates are locked up with no place to walk or exercise. “He [Navlakha] said he has lost 2 kg in these three weeks of prolonged quarantine and was wondering how long the authorities would keep him and the other inmates in such inhuman conditions,” the letter read. “Taloja jail at present does not seem to have space for new prisoners such as him. Given these circumstances it worries me to think about the extreme health risk that he and other inmates are being exposed to on a daily basis.”
Hussain said that she was trying to seek legal recourse to help Navlakha’s situation. “...I do believe that it is important for us outside to raise our voice against this kind of inhuman treatment of a political prisoner like Gautam – and in fact all the other BK [Bhima Koregaon] 11 currently in jail.”
She further pointed to the health condition of Varavara Rao, the 81-year-old Telugu poet, also an accused in the Elgar Parishad case. Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai on May 29. The activist was initially being treated at the medical facility of the Taloja Jail, where he is lodged, but was shifted to hospital after his condition did not improve. However, Rao was discharged after just three days in the hospital.
Navlakha and ten other people are accused of making inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence at Bhima-Koregaon war memorial the next day. The National Investigation Agency took over the case from the Pune Police earlier this year.
Here’s the full text of the letter:
Dear Anand
Gautam called me yesterday after a gap of 15 days. All I knew until then was that he was sent to a quarantine facility in Taloja on 26th May after he was suddenly shifted from Tihar jail in Delhi to Bombay. This quarantine facility runs from a school building in Taloja where new inmates are brought before being shifted to jail.
Gautam mentioned to me on the phone some of the horrific details that I am sharing with you.
He said that there are 350 inmates crowded into six class rooms in the building with Gautam having to share the room with 35 other inmates, many others sleeping in the corridors and passages. There are only 3 toilets, 7 urinals and a common bating space without a bucket or a mug. He said that the congestion is such that apart from the fear of Covid-19, inmates are prone to skin infections too.
He also said that there is no fresh air as they are mostly locked in with no place to walk or exercise, although he manages to do his yoga as other inmates help to clear some space for him. He said he has lost 2 kg in these three weeks of prolonged quarantine and was wondering how long the authorities would keep him and the other inmates in such inhuman conditions. Taloja jail at present does not seem to have space for new prisoners such as him. Given these circumstances it worries me to think about the extreme health risk that he and other inmates are being exposed to on a daily basis.
He also mentioned how all of them are completely cut off from the outside world as there is no news flowing in or out of this quarantine facility. He wondered about what could be going on in the world outside!
I must say I am truly aghast with what he shared with me yesterday.
Despite these deplorable conditions that he described to me, he sounded well and said that he is trying his best to manage and not wilt under the sheer burden of this ordeal.
I thought I must share this with you since you have often been asking me about his well being . His lawyers and I are trying to see what can be done, although I do believe that it is important for us outside to raise our voice against this kind of inhuman treatment of a political prisoner like Gautam - and in fact all the other BK 11 currently in jail.
You must have also heard regarding Varvara Rao’s terrible and deteriorating health condition inside the jail.
The concerned authorities urgently need to look into this and make necessary amends.
Well, thanks for calling me earlier today.
Salaam,
Sahba
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!