Poet and activist Varavara Rao tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, according to reports. He was shifted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai on Monday.
Dr Ranjit Mankeshwar, the dean of JJ Hospital, was quoted as saying by The Indian Express, “He has shown no symptoms of Covid-19 so far. He has no breathing difficulty and is stable. We will soon shift him to a Covid hospital.”
Rao had been lodged at Taloja Jail in Maharashtra as an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
He had on Monday approached the Bombay High Court seeking temporary bail owing to his deteriorating medical condition and the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic. He had also sought a direction from the court to the prison authorities to produce his medical records.
Rao filed two petitions in the HC through his advocate R Satyanarayan Iyer one challenging a June 26 order passed by the special NIA court rejecting his bail plea and the second seeking a direction to the authorities of Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai to produce his medical records.
(With PTI inputs)