RANCHI: Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), a network of activists and eminent citizens, has demanded that Stan Swamy, currently lodged in Taloja jail in Mumbai, be shifted to a hospital for the proper medical treatment.
Writing a letter to Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, JJM pleaded that looking at his health conditions and rising Covid cases in Taloja jail, Stan should be shifted immediately to a hospital.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested 84-year-old Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in Bhima Koregaon case on October 8, in a case related to the violence which erupted at an event to mark the 100 years of the Bhima-Koregaon battle on January 1 in 2018, leaving one dead and several others injured.
The letter further added that Stan, who is a Parkinson’s disease patient with severe tremors in both hands, is currently having fever and cough. He was given antibiotics by the Ayurvedic doctors but it did not help him much.
“Stan Swamy finds it difficult to drinking from a glass, taking bath and washing clothes on his own. He also has serious hearing problem and needs hearing aid for both ears. He was also operated twice for hernia in the recent past,” the letter said.
“On May 14, Stan called up his colleague and shared that he was unwell. For the first time since his arrest, he said that he was feeling very weak. He is not able to speak even over phone and his condition has to be described by others,” stated the letter written to the Maharashtra government. added.
Stan, according to JJM, has not even received first shot of Covid vaccine and is yet to be tested for the virus. Therefore, there is an urgent need to shift Swamy to a good hospital, stated the letter.
The JJM further said it would be really helpful if he is shifted to the Holy Family Hospital or Holy Spirit Hospital where his Jesuit colleagues can take care of him. Stan is an elderly and ailing person, with limited mobility and no history of violence against others, the JMM said in the letter.
A copy of the letter has also been sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.