Rao had been shifted to state-run JJ Hospital earlier this month and made to undergo tests, including one for Covid-19. (File)
THE FAMILY members of poet Varavara Rao on Monday wrote to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, stating they were not provided any information about his health. Rao (80), who is behind bars since 2018 after being named as an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, had tested positive for Covid-19 on July 16 and is admitted in Nanavati Hospital.
The letter written by his wife, P Hemalatha, and three daughters, Sahaja, Anala and Pavana, stated that they have been denied any information about his condition or treatment being given to him at the hospital.
“We are extremely worried and anxious to know about his health. We are writing to you since he is lodged in a jail under your ministry as an undertrial prisoner and it is your bounden duty to look after his well-being. It is also your duty to inform his family in case of any problem to his health as per the Charter of Patient Rights prepared by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry,” the letter stated, adding that they have been “kept in the dark” for 12 days about his condition.
Rao had been shifted to state-run JJ Hospital earlier this month and made to undergo tests, including one for Covid-19. After testing positive, he was first shifted to a civic hospital before being transferred to Nanavati Hospital. The family has said that the only official information provided to them was that he had tested positive for the virus. The letter said that repeated calls to Taloja Central Jail, where he was lodged, did not yield any information or any proper response. It also said that calls to Nanavati Hospital did not receive a response earlier, but they were later told by a spokesperson that information was being provided to prison authorities.
The letter added that it was the responsibility of the jail authorities to provide regular updates to the family or instruct the hospital to give information about it. “We request you to direct Taloja jail authorities or Nanavati Hospital to provide regular updates on Mr Rao’s health status, the diagnosis of his health problems and line of treatment to us,” stated the letter addressed to Deshmukh and marked to the Additional Director General of Prisons stated.