Gautam Navlakha, the jailed journalist and one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, will be taken to the Tata Memorial Hospital at Kharghar, Mumbai on Friday in order to examine a lump in his chest, the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Thursday, Bar and Bench reported.
Navlakha moved the High Court for urgent relief as it is necessary to examine if the lump is malignant, considering a family history of cancer, his lawyer submitted in court.
His lawyer added that Navlakha would be more comfortable in getting examined in Jaslok Hospital as his sister works there, to which the Additional Solicitor General stated that Navlakha could instead be taken to a government hospital that is renowned for its cancer treatment.
Navlakha has been in jail since his surrender on April 14, 2020.
The Bhima Koregaon Case
Navlakha and 15 other activists and scholars who were arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act await trial for the past three years.
The police had alleged that the activists who had links with Maoists, backed an event, the Elgar Parishad at Bhima Koregaoan in January 2018, where violence broke out. The event was organized to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. In 1818, Dalits of the village fought the battle as soldiers (mahars) in the British army and defeated the Brahmin Peshwa Bajirao II.
Recommended
Among the arrested activists, 82-year-old Telugu poet Varavara Rao is out on bail and 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy recently died on July 5 while in custody.
Earlier this year, the Bombay High Court on February 8 denied bail to Navlakha once again. On May 12, the Supreme Court had once again dismissed his plea for a statutory bail based on which he had moved the High Court again where he pointed out that he was denied basic medical and other necessities in Taloja Central Prison and was suffering great hardships at his advanced age.