‘Navlakha 6th accused to be sent to anda cell’

Gautam Navlakha. File Pic

Delhi-based civil rights organisation, fighting for democratic and human rights, has condemned the shifting of Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha to anda (high security) cell of Taloja prison, and called it a ‘continued harassment of the accused by prison authorities".

People's Union for Democratic Rights' (PUDR) secretary Radhika Chitkara told mid-day that Navlakha is the sixth accused in Bhima Koregaon case to be shifted to solitary confinement, which is ‘blatantly illegal' in case of under-trial prisoners. "The other accused include Vernon Gonsalves, Sagar Gokhale, Ramesh Gaichor, Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale," she said. "It is well known that solitary confinement in the egg-shaped (anda) high security concrete structure is aimed at exacting a severe physical and psychological toll on detainees," she added.

"The high handedness of the Taloja Central Jail administration was evident in the events leading to the death of the Bhima Koregaon under trial, Stan Swamy on July 5, 2021. Almost immediately, the remaining under trials protested the arbitrary jail conditions imposed by the then Superintendent, Kaustabh Kurlekar by observing a one-day hunger strike," Chitkara said in a statement issued on the day mid-day published a cover-page story on Navlakha.

Chitkara demanded an "immediate end to incarceration of all under trials in anda cell of Taloja Central Jail. Treatment of ailments and illnesses is the responsibility of the jail administration. The rights of all inmates to communicate with family and lawyers, including over the phone, be ensured and release of all prisoners held under UAPA".