Varavara Rao, the 81-year-old poet and activist lodged at the Taloja Jail in Maharashtra over his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018, was taken to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai on Monday.
Rao was taken to the hospital at around 6 pm.
Speaking to TNM, N Venugopal, nephew of Varavara Rao, said, “Although we have not received any official information about Varavara Rao being taken to the hospital from jail authorities, sources told us that he has been shifted to JJ Hospital. We have been told that tests are being conducted, but we don't know if he would be kept in the hospital as an in-patient or taken back to the jail.”
Confirming the same, sources from the hospital said that tests are being conducted on the senior activist and that he is yet to be admitted in the hospital.
Earlier in the day, the decision to deny temporary medical bail to the revolutionary poet and Left ideologue was challenged by his lawyers. A fresh petition was filed, seeking medical intervention for the Telangana poet lodged at the Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai for nearly two years.
Varavara Rao was taken into custody under charges of instigating violence at the annual Bhima Koregaon event in 2018 and over an alleged plot to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Though the charges remain unproven, Varavara Rao, with a history of hypertension and heart ailments, was placed under house arrest in 2018. He was later shifted to the Taloja Jail where his health condition worsened.
Bail for Varavara Rao and the co-accused in the case, 61-year-old Shoma Sen, was rejected twice. The temporary bail application for medical treatment of Varavara Rao was denied on June 26.
The latest petition filed on Monday sought directions to the concerned authorities from the court to send Varavara Rao for an immediate medical check-up to any private hospital at his own expense. The hearing for the petition was to be heard on Friday. However, a request was made by R Sathyanarayanan, the advocate for Rao and others, to move the petition hearing to Tuesday.
Varavara Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital on May 28 for treatment after losing consciousness in jail. Though the hospital had suggested to the jail authorities to provide treatment for Rao, treatment was cut short and the poet was taken back to jail..
The petition filed on Monday seeks details of the treatment provided to Varavara Rao since his treatment was discontinued after the second temporary medical bail plea was rejected.
Family members of the poet had expressed concerns over the health of the 81-year-old after he reportedly sounded delirious over the phone to his family on Saturday.
On Sunday, Romila Thapar and four other Supreme Court petitioners in the Bhima Koregaon case wrote to the Maharashtra government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to facilitate the immediate transfer of Varavara Rao to JJ Hospital for proper treatment.