Prison officials ignored Father Stan Swamy’s Covid-19 symptoms: Lawyer

Activist’s advocate says the 84-year-old visited JJ hospital three times in the past 10 days, but was never tested for the novel Coronavirus

After Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy tested positive for novel Coronavirus, his advocate Mihir Desai raised questions about the Taloja prison department’s conduct towards his health. Desai asked why he was not tested for Covid-19 when he clearly had all symptoms of the deadly infection. Desai has accused the prison of negligence for not conducting the RT-PCR test on Swamy, who had displayed all typical symptoms of Covid-19.

A Catholic priest holds a placard with the image of Father Stan Swamy during a protest against his arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case, at Secunderabad in Telangana. File pic

He was taken to JJ hospital three times in the past 10 days, but not once was he tested for Coronavirus, he said. A test was conducted only after the activist was shifted to Holy Family hospital on the high court’s order.

On May 28, the HC ordered Taloja prison to shift him to Holy Family hospital, as he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and also had problems with his hearing and in his spine and backbone, Desai told mid-day on Monday. His report came back positive on Sunday.

Also Read: Elgar Parishad case: Stan Swamy tests positive for coronavirus

“We came to know he had Covid-19 only after he was shifted to a private hospital, otherwise I don’t know how long these people would have waited. He is 84 years old and currently in the ICU,” Desai said.

Desai said the hospital will carry out a complete medical examination of Swamy once he has recovered from Covid-19. His bail application will be heard on June 14, he added. Father Swamy is an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case and was arrested from Ranchi on October 9, 2020.

Taloja Jail Superintendent Kaustubh Kurlekar refuted the allegations as baseless.

“He was provided all medical facilities available inside the prison. The day he came to the prison, he was given an attendant to after him because of hi old age. He had a wheelchair and walking sticks as well. The RT-PCR test was not done in the prison because he did not have any symptoms. He was sent to JJ hospital on the directions of the court. There also his RT-PCR test was not done because he had no symptoms. His medical files were shared before the court and on concerned time basis,” Kurlekar told mid-day.

May 28
Day he was shifted to Holy Family hospital from Taloja jail

May 30
Day his Covid-19 test report came back positive

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