Delhi University professor Hany Babu MT, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad - Bhima-Koregaon case has tested positive for Coronavirus at JJ hospital where he was admitted, after an acute eye infection he developed in Taloja jail where he was lodged, worsened.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, the academic’s wife Jenny Rowena and brothers Harish MT and MT Ansari had requested immediate access to proper medical care. They said that a day earlier Babu’s lawyer had made eight phone calls to the Taloja jail to speak with its superintendent but that he refused to come on the line. It said further that the jailor had informed the lawyer that he was aware of Babu’s condition. The lawyers had then sent an email to the jail that there be no delay in taking him to the hospital; however, it said that he was not taken to hospital even on Tuesday.
Babu had started experiencing pain and swelling in his left eye on May 3. The prison did not have facilities to treat his infection and he had requested for consultation with a specialist. He was not taken for consultation, the statement said, due to lack of escort officers. It was only after an email was sent by his lawyers that he had been taken to the Government Hospital in Vashi on May 7. There the ophthalmologist had prescribed antibacterial medication and advised to return for a follow up after two days. The statement said that he was not taken to the hospital for a follow-up even when his condition deteriorated, again due to lack of escort facilities.
