Gautam Navlakha shifted to 'Anda cell' in Taloja prison which affected his health, claims partner

Activist Gautam Navlakha arrested in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case has been shifted to the Anda Circle highsecurity barracks in the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai his partner Sahba Husain said on Sunday and claimed the 70yearolds already fragile health has deteriorated further due to shiftingIn a statement Husain claimed the activist was shifted to the Anda circle from the regular barracks on October 12 and questioned as to how long will Navlakha be persecuted for his views and to what extent will the authorities go to break his spiritThe statement further said the accused in the Elgar Parishad case have had to face indignities and humiliation for the smallest and basic needs in prison In the Anda circle he is deprived of daily walks in the jails nonconcreted greener areas and fresh air and his health has deteriorated further making specialised medical care an absolute necessity if he is to live to fight this unjust and false case hoisted on him Husain saidThese are prisoners of conscience who have had to face indignities and humiliation for the smallest needs and wage court battles for basic dignities in prison Husain said referring to the recent incident wherein Navlakhas spectacles went missing and it was difficult to send him a replacement in time Gautam has faced his unjustified incarceration with courage and spirit How much longer is he going to be persecuted for his views and to what extent will the authorities go to break his spirit Husain askedNavlakha was arrested in the case on August 28 2018 for his alleged involvement in the Elgar ParishadMaoists links case While he was initially kept under house arrest he was subsequently sent to judicial custody and is lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai The statement further said that Navlakhas telephone calls to Husain and his lawyers have been discontinued by the prison authorities on the pretext that inmates can now be met in jail physicallyIt added that without his weekly calls to Husain and his lawyers Navlakhas life and his defence will be severely compromised Gautams fragile health and wellbeing will be further jeopardized by this withdrawal of phone call facility to his family and lawyers the statement saidHusain also quoted what Navlakha wrote to her confinement in the Anda circle means denial of fresh airoxygen as there is not a single tree or plant in the open space of the circle We are forbidden to step outside of the Anda circle In other words we spend 16 hours out of 24 cooped inside our cell and the 8 hours we are let out we are confined to a corridor for our daily walk on the cemented floor surrounded by high walls all around Husain stated quoting NavlakhaThe statement also referred to the recent death of Jesuit priest Stan Swamy a coaccused in the Elgar Parishad case who too had allegedly struggled in prison to get basic facilities and died while awaiting bail on the health grounds Husain added that since she lives in Delhi she has to travel frequently to Mumbai to meet Navlakha in jail for the allotted ten minutesGautams only contact with me is through the two phone calls he was allowed every week to me that enabled me to send him articles of need including medicines books and so on With the discontinuance of phone calls all this will now depend on letters that take a minimum of two weeks to reach me the statement said It added that apart from calls to her regular access to lawyers through phone calls is also an essential facility for undertrial prisonersTo deprive an undertrial prisoner of this effective and efficient mode of securing legal advice and help or access to family is the height of unfairness Husain said Navlakha had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court in September seeking to be shifted from the Taloja prison to judicial custody in the form of house arrest owing to his advanced age and the medical ailments he suffers from The plea is pending before the HCThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever