‘Direct state, prison authorities to give updates on Rao’s health

The family of veteran Telugu poet P Varavara Rao, 81, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking

The family of veteran Telugu poet P Varavara Rao, 81, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking updates on his health.

HT Image

Rao has tested positive for Covid-19 and is suffering from several other ailments. He was moved from state-run GT Hospital to Nanavati Hospital, following an NHRC order, on Sunday morning.

In a letter written on Friday, his wife, P Hemalatha, and daughters, P Sahaja, P Anala, P Pavana, have asked NHRC to intervene and direct the state government and prison authorities to give periodic updates on Rao’s health and share details of the treatment given to him. The family has sought updates every six hours and appointment of a contact person, who they can get in touch with for information related to Rao’s health and treatment. “We are denied information on his condition or treatment at Nanavati Hospital. From the time he was shifted out of Taloja jail to St George’s Hospital to Nanavati Hospital, the only official information provided to the family was that he had tested positive for Covid-19,” the letter states. “The family was not informed, by either hospital or prison authorities, about a head injury discovered on him upon arrival at Nanavati Hospital.”

The family has referred to the order passed by NHRC on July 13, directing the prison authorities to provide all necessary medical care and assistance to Rao with intimation to his family members. “It is the family’s right to get routine updates about the medical status of a patient, any treatment that he is undergoing and the risks involved regarding the same. Keeping us in the dark about Rao’s medical status is a flagrant violation of the NHRC directive,” the family alleged.