3 accused in Elgar-Maoist links case contract COVID-19 in jail

June 03, 2021 18:53

Three out of 10 accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case who are lodged at Taloja Central Prison near Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus infection, an official said on Thursday.

RT-PCR tests of 57 inmates of the jail, located in Navi Mumbai, were conducted recently, he said.

Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor, all accused in the Elgar case, tested positive, while other 54 were negative. The reports were received on Wednesday, the prison official said.

Those whose reports were negative included activists Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves, Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawle and Arun Farreira, all accused in the Elgar Parishad case.

Of total 13 accused in the case, Varavara Rao, Stan Swamy and Hany Babu are currently out of the prison.

Rao is on bail, whereas Swamy (84) and Babu are hospitalised. Swamy and Babu had tested positive for the virus at hospital.

Sudha Bharadwaj, another accused, is lodged in Byculla jail in Mumbai.

Taloja prison officials conducted RT-PCR tests of 556 inmates in April and May this year as a precautionary measure, and a total of 14 persons tested positive, the official said. The prison currently houses 2,972 inmates.

The Elgar case relates to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. Pune Police had claimed that it was backed by Maoists and the speeches made there triggered caste violence at Bhima-Koregaon war memorial in the district the next day.

-- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh passes away at 92

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92. He was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS Delhi in critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness."

4th Test Updates: India eye early wickets on Day 2

Manmohan Singh dropped pre-medical course: Book

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who died at the age of 92, dropped out of a pre-medical course after losing interest in the subject, according to a book by his daughter. Daman Singh's book "Strictly Personal: Manmohan and...

Steady progress in implementing LAC pact: China

He said that in recent times, based on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, China and India have maintained close communication on the border situation through diplomatic and military channels and achieved...

BJP got Rs 2,600cr donations in 2023-24, Cong Rs 281cr

During 2023-24, while the BJP received over Rs 723 crore worth of donations from Prudent Electoral Trust, it also got over Rs 127 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust and over Rs 17 lakh from Einzigartig Electoral Trust.