Navi Mumbai | Ramesh Gaichor, a singer, human rights activist and one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case has alleged serious medical negligence by the prison medical officers towards his fellow inmates at the Taloja Central Jail, which he says has resulted in the death of an undertrial prisoner. He has written to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) complaining that the medical negligence by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Taloja has led to the death of the 50-something Arjun Keru Abhang, alleging that he was denied proper medical treatment despite asking for it for about a week before his death. Gaichor has also alleged that such deaths due to medical negligence by prison officers are not uncommon at Taloja.

“On December 11, 2024, I learned that undertrial prisoner Arjun Keru Abhang had died in the morning after suffering from a heart attack. I knew Abhang. I also had information about how the Chief Medical Officer at Taloja had neglected the health issues that Abhang was going through and treatment in the five days leading to his death,” Gaichor writes in the letter to the SHRC, calling the CMO’s treatment of Abhang irresponsible and inhuman.

Gaichor, human rights activist and a member of Kabir Kala Manch, has been incarcerated at the Taloja Central Jail for the past four years and four months. He was part of the 16 activists and intellectuals (BK16) who were accused of inciting the violence at Bhima Koregaon in 2018 and slammed with the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He is one of the seven BK16 who continue to remain in prison without bail. He has been vocal raising issues from the prison as well.

“On December 7, Abhang returned to jail after his hearing at the Belapur sessions court. The same evening, he began complaining of pain in his lower abdomen. But despite sending out a medical report, he was not given any treatment until the next morning when the constable came for barack opening. Even after that, he had to wait for around one and a half hours to be taken for check-up,” Gaichor alleges.

He further said that Abhang was sent back in about an hour after being injected with a painkiller. It seemed to have helped him till the evening of December 8, however, he was in pain again by the night time.

“On Monday, December 9, he was finally taken to the prison hospital after he complained of severe pain on the side of his kidney. But he was just given some nominal medication, and no serious medical intervention was made. He had his home interaction on Monday, but he could not even walk to reach there. He was taken in a wheelchair. He even told his son during the interaction that despite unbearable pain, he was not being transferred to a bigger hospital outside the prison,” Gaichor wrote in the letter dated December 14, 2024.

The Maharashtra Prisons (Prison Hospitals) Rules, 1970 mandate that urgent cases requiring immediate surgical or other treatment which cannot be given in the prison hospital shall be transferred at once to the local Civil Hospital and report made to the Regional Deputy Inspector General. Gaichor mentioned that it has been a practice at Taloja to send such ailing prisoners to certain government hospitals such as Vashi Civil Hospital, JJ Hospital, Nair Hospital, St. George Hospital, KEM Hospital, etc. for treatment or diagnosis.

However, he said that despite repeated requests from Abhang, he was not sent to any civil hospital. He added that when Abhang came to collect his belongings like bucket, sweater, etc. to take to the prison hospital, he was crying that he was short of breath and his mouth was dry. He also said that despite requesting to be taken to a civil hospital, but nobody was listening to him, nor was anybody paying any attention to him.

“He spent all of Tuesday, December 10, at the hospital barrack in pain and asking to be taken to a hospital, to no avail. Finally, he was found dead in the wee hours of December 11. After that, the hospital pretended to rush him to the hospital as an emergency case to cover up their tracks. He was declared to be ‘brought dead’ by the doctors at Vashi Civil Hospital,” Gaichor wrote.

When inquired about this complaint, Pramod Wagh, Superintendent of Police, Taloja Central Jail, said that he will not be able to answer without reviewing the complaint first, which he said he had not seen. An ally close to the case said that the complaint must have reached the SHRC by around December 29.

Abhang was in jail for the past five years. Gaichor added that the undertrial prisoner was confident that he was going to be acquitted in around two months. However, he died in the prison before that could happen.

"The undertrial prisoner was confident that he was going to be acquitted in around two months. However, he died in the prison before that could happen."

“This is not an isolated incident. Around a week before Abhang’s death, a young inmate, Ramesh Dadaram Salunkhe (37), died of a heart attack. He was also complaining of chest pain before his death and was repeatedly requesting to be taken to a hospital. I would also like to note that in September, another young prisoner, 24-year-old Irfan Shaikh, died in the prison,” Gaichor said.

He said that during his incarcerations from 2013 to 2017 and 2020 to present, he has seen this happening often due to the negligence of medical officers in the prisons as well as their claims that the prisoners only pretend to be sick so that they can be taken to a hospital.

“This is their pattern. Very rarely do the prisons make a case paper for their sick prisoners. Prisoners are almost always given the same few medicines for their ailments without a proper diagnosis. The prison administration is very apathetic about making any improvements to this system,” Gaichor accuses.

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Many of the BK16 have alleged cases of medical negligence in the prison. Father Stan Swamy, who was arrested in October 2020, died on July 5, 2021, waiting for bail. In a last hearing at the Bombay High Court before his death, he had undergone a ‘steady regression’ of his body functions in the jail and had expressed this could lead to his death. Political activist, poet and writer Varavara Rao’s health also deteriorated while in prison and his family had alleged that the prison had blocked them from information regarding his health. While granting him bail in 2021, after around three years of incarceration, the Bombay High Court had noted that the Taloja Jail Hospital lacked adequate medical infrastructure.

Apart from the BK16, other political prisoners in the country have also pointed out the medical negligence prevalent in India’s prisons. The health condition of former Delhi University professor Dr. GN Saibaba, who was already wheelchair bound, deteriorated drastically during his close to 10 years of imprisonment in a case of alleged Maoist connections, charges of which he was acquitted later. He passed away merely months after his release. Saibaba and his team had spoken of the medical negligence at the Nagpur Central Jail from time to time. His co-accused, Pandu Narote, lost his life while still at the Nagpur Central Jail, due to complications from Swine Flu.