Two KMSS leaders test Covid-19 positive in Guwahati prison

GUWAHATI: Two jailed members of peasants' rights organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) - Dharjya Konwar and Bittu Sonowal - tested for Covid-19 positive on Wednesday night, while KMSS adviser Akhil Gogoi's RT-PCR result is negative. Gogoi had reported symptoms similar to that of Covid-19.
The two KMSS leaders testing positive has sparked fears of the possibility of the virus spreading among other jail inmates. The Guwahati Central Jail houses at least 1,089 prisoners.
The test result of another KMSS leader, Manas Konwar, who is also lodged in the same jail, is awaited.
Dasarath Das, inspector-general of prisons, told TOI, "Konwar and Sonowal tested positive in the rapid antigen test at 10 pm on Wednesday and were shifted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital for treatment."
Das said those who came into direct contact with the positive patients have been being identified and over 100 swabs have been taken so far. With the reports of two cases, at least four inmates in Guwahati Central Jail have been detected Covid-positive. In the state jails, the number of positive cases has gone up to eight.
It is not known yet how the KMSS leaders got infected with the virus. The IGP said visitors have been restricted owing to the rapid spike in the number of cases.
All three have been in jail since December last year for their role in protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). They have been lodged in Guwahati Central Jail in connection with a case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly having a nexus with Maoists. Konwar and Sonowal were arrested on December 16 for allegedly being involved in "promoting enmity" between groups and "endangering" the security and sovereignty of the state during the anti-CAA agitation.
Advocate Krishna Gogoi, counsel of Akhil and his aides, said, "The jail authority conducted the Covid-19 test following the direction of the NIA court to jail authorities."
Meanwhile, former Assam chief minister and senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi has called for the release of peasant leader Akhil Gogoi and his associates, saying their detention is "undemocratic and unlawful".
Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia on Thursday also wrote to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal demanding an inquiry to find out how Covid-19 has spread in the Guwahati Central Jail when no outsider or family member has been allowed to meet the detainees.
Saikia said, "The authorities had taken the decision to conduct the Covid-19 tests only after the court's directive. The government should set up an inquiry commission to find out how Covid-19 has spread in the Guwahati Central Jail when no outsider or family member has been allowed to meet the detainees since a long time," Saikia wrote in his letter to the chief minister, adding that it is necessary to trace how the virus entered the jail premises.
The day also saw members of the KMSS and its sister organisations, political parties like CPM and AIUDF, other regional social organisations, students of leading universities and like-minded people of the state launching a digital campaign called 'Free Akhil Gogoi'.