3 Bhima Koregaon Accused Contract Coronavirus In Taloja Jail After Father Stan Swamy Tested Positive Last Week

Three out of 10 accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case who are lodged at Taloja Central Prison near Mumbai have tested positive for Covid-19, reported PTI. RT-PCR tests of 57 inmates of the jail, located in Navi Mumbai, were conducted recently. Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe & Ramesh Gaichor, all accused in the Elgar case, tested positive, while the other 54 were negative. The reports were received on June 2, the prison official said, reported PTI. Of total 13 accused in the case, Varavara Rao, Father Stan Swamy & Hany Babu are currently out of the prison. Rao is on bail, whereas Swamy (84) & Babu are hospitalised. Swamy & Babu had tested positive for the virus at hospital. Sudha Bharadwaj, another accused, is lodged in Byculla jail in Mumbai. The Elgar case relates to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. Pune Police had claimed that it was backed by Maoists & the speeches made there triggered caste violence at Bhima-Koregaon war memorial in the district the next day.