Gautam Navlakha Shifted to High-Security Barracks in Jail, Phone Calls Cancelled

Navlakha's partner Sabha Husain asked in a statement, "to what extent will the authorities go to break his spirit?”

File photo of Gautam Navlakha.

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Sidheeq)

Seventy-year-old Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, was shifted to the ‘Anda Circle’, the high-security barracks in Mumbai’s Taloja jail, his partner Sabha Husain said on Sunday, 24 October.

Further, she stated, “his telephone calls to me and his lawyers, his lifeline to the outside world, have been discontinued on the pretext that physical mulaquats have resumed in jail.”

In a statement, Husain added:

“Apart from the calls to me, regular access to lawyers through phone calls is an essential facility for undertrial prisoners. To deprive any undertrial prisoner of this effective and efficient mode of securing legal advice and help, or access to family, is the height of unfairness.”

She asserted that Navlakha’s already fragile health has further deteriorated due to shifting.

Husain also wrote about late Stan Swamy, saying that he “passed away in tragic circumstances”, adding that he “had to fight for such basic needs as a straw to drink, help to move to the toilet, and medical attention.”Navlakha is one of the 11 activists, academics, and lawyers who were accused of having Naxal links and giving inflammatory speeches at Pune’s Elgar Parishad meet, which instigated the violence in Bhima Koregaon on 1 January 2018.

He, among others, was booked by the Pune Police under the contentious Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

“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?” said Husain concluding her statement.

Just last month, the state government of Maharashtra told the Bombay High Court on 2 September, that Navlakha will be taken to the Tata Memorial Center in Kharghar for a medical checkup.

This came after a plea moved by Navlakha's counsel, advocate Yug Chaudhary stated that Navlakha has developed a lump in his chest.

Navlakha is one of the 11 activists, academics, and lawyers who were accused of having Naxal links and giving inflammatory speeches at Pune’s Elgar Parishad meet, which instigated the violence in Bhima Koregaon on 1 January 2018.

He, among others, was booked by the Pune Police under the contentious Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.