The family of jailed former Delhi University professor Dr GN Saibaba, who tested positive for COVID- 19 recently, has appealed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to intervene and direct the Nagpur Central Jail authorities to shift him to a multi-speciality hospital.
The family, in a press release by Committee for Defence and Release of Dr GN Saibaba, a voluntary group of his supporters, has also demanded that the 90 per cent disabled academic be granted parole by the jail so that he can recover with family support and nutritious food.
On a phone call received from prison on Tuesday evening, Dr Saibaba informed his family that he suffers severe cough and his blood pressure has slipped to alarming levels. The family found him unable to speak due to this throat infection and weakness. He told them he has lost appetite and has difficulty swallowing food. On February 18, a few days after he tested positive, he had a fall from his cot due to low blood pressure, they said.
“We are extremely disturbed because of such incidents, as he cannot move without a wheelchair or call for help easily. Only one of the co-accused, who has also contracted COVID-19, has been allotted as an attendant. He cannot do justice in attending to Saibaba, since he himself needs rest and is on medication,” their release read.
Under such critical health conditions, they said, Dr. Saibaba should be admitted to a hospital as soon as possible and needs immediate medical monitoring as medical experts have opined that persons with post-polio residual paralysis are prone to severe comorbidities.
