The Taloja Central Jail refused to accept spectacles sent for Gautam Navlakha, after the pair he was using were stolen, his partner Sahba Husain said.
Talking to The Hindu, Ms. Husain said, “Gautam lost his spectacles on November 27 but he couldn’t call earlier and inform me as he had to wait for his turn to call. On November 30, when he was finally able to call he told me he lost his pair.”
“He has a very high-power number about 6.5 and is almost blind without them. So, I immediately got a new one made and sent it by Speed Post, as the jail authorities do not accept courier, on December 3. I thought it would have reached by now so I tracked it online only to find out that it reached the jail on December 5 but was returned on December 6,” Ms. Husain said.
"Will all the accused of Bhima Koregaon be treated like this.. where Stan Swamy has to wait for a month to get a sipper and now this.." she exclaimed.
Jail Superintendent Kaustubh Kurlekar said, “We do not accept any couriers, and we have not received any parcel by post. I told him if he wants another pair made, he can give us the power of his specs and we can make one for him. But he hasn’t. So what can we do?”
He said, “All the accused of Elghar Parishad , whether Varvara Rao, Stan Swamy or him, they can’t take care of themselves or their belongings. Is it our responsibility to take care of his specs?”
Mr Navlakha, is nearly 70 , patient of several ailments. He surrendered before the National Investigation Agency office at New Delhi on April 14. He has been charged with several sections of Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the Bhima Koregaon case.