Poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has tested positive for Covid-19. Rao, 81, on Monday had approached the Bombay High Court seeking temporary bail owing to his deteriorating medical condition and the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic but was denied relief.
Rao, another activist Anand Teltumbde and eight other activists were arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, which was initially probed by the Pune police and later transferred to the National Investigation Agency in January. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
Mr. Rao was taken to the hospital from the Taloja Central Jail on July 13 and admitted in the neurology department after he complained of giddiness.
On July 14, superintendent of JJ Dr. Sanjay Surase said some tests and investigations needed to be carried out on Mr. Rao. He refused to disclose any more details.
Mr. Rao was said to have been incoherent and delirious when he called his family on July 11 and had spoken about his parents’ funeral that took place decades ago.
Mr. Rao’s appeal against the rejection of his interim medical bail by a sessions court will be heard in the Bombay High Court on July 17.
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