The family of famed Telugu poet-activist Varavara Rao demanded his immediate release on Friday, 31 July, following a video conference with him from Nanavati Hospital.
In a statement to the press, Rao’s family including his wife P Hemalata, and daughters Sahaja, Anala and Pavana requested the Maharashtra government and the central government to “remove hurdles on granting bail” in light of Rao’s deteriorating health condition.
“He looked much more frail and weak and his physical condition did not seem to be well. More worrying was his psychological status... Much of his talk was from his subconscious memories from decades ago, but not related to the present. Thus, his disorientation, confusion, loss of memory, inability to grasp the present and incoherence seem to continue still. ”Rao’s family
They added that must be immediately released and allowed to be “with his own people” as that is the only remedy he requires.
Rao, 80, is a co-accused in the Bhima Koregaon case and was shifted to Nanavati Hospital from St George’s Hospital on 19 July after National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urged the Maharashtra government to ensure that proper treatment is provided.
The Bombay High Court had, on 28 July, directed Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital to produce a report on the status of Rao’s health.
‘Reduced to a Man Searching for Words’
Stating that Rao was not able to answer many of the questions posed by his family during the 20-minute interaction on 31 July, they said that much of what he said was from his “subconscious memories from decades ago, but not related to the present.
“For over sixty years he has been a public intellectual, an eloquent, much sought-after public speaker with perfect memory. Now, he is reduced to a man searching for words and incoherent. He has been a gregarious person, a voracious reader and prolific writer. With today’s video conference, we are convinced that lack of people around him, lack of papers and books to read and lack of writing facilities are harming both his physical and psychological health,” they said.
The National Investigation Agency, which took over the probe into the Bhima Koregaon violence from Pune police in January this year, has said that the octogenarian, who tested positive for COVID-19, “is trying to take undue benefit under the garb of the disease and his old age in seeking bail on medical grounds.”
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