Jailed With GN Saibaba, Pandu Narote Dies; Lawyer Alleges Treatment Delay

33-year-old Pandu Narote.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Pandu Narote, 33, convicted alongside former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for Maoist links, passed away at 5.30 pm on Thursday, 25 August, in Nagpur GMCH hospital.

While Narote died after contracting swine flu, his lawyer alleged that there was a delay in his treatment.

The lawyer found that Narote was taken to the hospital two days ago. However, no information was given by the jail authorities about his deteriorating health condition.

Even after his death, his lawyers and family were not told how he got sick or what the cause of his death was.

The lawyer said that Narote was otherwise a healthy young man, and there was no intimation that his health had started to deteriorate so severely.

Akash Sorte, also one of the lawyers who represented him and the other accused in the case, visited Narote in the hospital on 23 August. "Narote was already in a terrible condition when he was brought to the hospital," he told The Wire.

Narote was arrested from Aheri in Gadchiroli in August 2013. He, along with GN Saibaba and four others, has been convicted under various sections of the UAPA dealing with conspiracy, being a member of a terrorist gang or organisation, and for support to a terrorist organisation.

Saibaba's wife Vasanta Saibaba said that his family did not know whether he fell ill and that they could not even meet him in his last moments. She added that the lawyer requested Narote to be shifted to the ICU ward, but that was not done.

"It is due to the sheer neglect of the authorities that this tragedy had to happen. Are the lives of prisoners who are fighting for justice in courts not valuable? The lawyer requested Pandu to be shifted to the ICU ward but it was not implemented," she told The Quint.

She further said, "There is a rampant neglect of prisoners health in the jail, that allows for such tragedies to happen. It took more than five years for the appeal to reach the high court, where it's still proceeding. In that time, Pandu is no more."

(With inputs from The Wire.)