New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday demanded that jailed poet and activist Varavara Rao be released immediately and admitted to a super speciality hospital.

Rao's health is a matter of grave concern, Chidambaram said.

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The 80-year-old, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has tested positive for COVID-19. He is lodged at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai under judicial custody and was admitted to the Maharashtra government-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai earlier this week.

"The condition of Shri Varavara Rao as described by his family is a matter of grave concern. It is beyond belief that the State, the police and the prison authorities can behave in such an inhuman manner under the watch of the NHRC," Chidambaram said on Twitter.

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"Shri Varavara Rao should be released immediately and admitted to a super speciality hospital that will treat him properly," he demanded.

Rao has been in jail for about 22 months and had earlier approached the special NIA court, seeking bail on medical grounds and the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

Rao and nine other activists have been arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, which was initially probed by Pune Police and later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The case is related to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)