Guwahati: Anjali Daimary, the sister of incarcerated NDFB insurgent leader Ranjan Daimary, has blamed authorities for refusing to be clear in communication about her brother’s health. Ranjan was found to be COVID-19 positive on Friday.
His sister has said it is his basic right to be in direct touch with his family.
Ranjan Daimary headed the once powerful ‘Ranjan’ or ‘R’ faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and is the main accused of the 2008 Assam serial bomb blasts that killed more than 88 people and seriously injured several others.
Ranjan and nine accomplices are serving a life sentence. Multiple accusations against Ranjan range from kidnapping, to extortion, and killings.
Also read: Assam: Officials Refuse to Confirm Whether Akhil Gogoi Tested Positive for COVID-19
Anjali said she learned of Ranjan’s test results through a close associate of his and through news channels. Relatives of the two incarcerated Krishak Mukti Samiti (KMSS) leaders who are down with COVID-19 have also blamed authorities over lack of transparency in dispensing information.
It is to be noted that Guwahati Central Jail has become a hot spot for COVID-19 and among those who have been detected with the coronavirus are political prisoners serving jail sentences for their involvement in ‘anti-national or seditious’ activities like the two KMSS leaders Bitu Sonowal and Dharjya Konwar. Both are facing charges put by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Anjali told The Wire that her brother (who is a political prisoner) had had a fever for almost a week. She questioned why jail authorities did not take precautionary measures even then. She said he was tested, and swabs samples were taken on July 4, but the results came only on Friday.
She said that among the 19 jail inmates who were found to be COVID-19 positive, 11 of them are from the NDFB, including Ranjan.
Also read: Akhil Gogoi Has COVID-Like Symptoms, Says KMSS Leader’s Wife in Facebook Post
“The jail authorities were quite negligent towards my brother. How could they overlook a weeklong fever when we are in the middle of a pandemic? I came to know that he was given medicine only for viral fever. They should have informed about his condition when he was down with fever,” she said.
When Anjali contacted the jailer, he told her that he has been shifted to GMCH. “He was taken out of jail on Friday at around 4 pm. He was initially taken to a COVID-19 facility at Jagiroad but there were no beds available. Then he was taken to MMCH but there were no beds there as well. He was ultimately taken to GMCH. Why were we not informed by the authorities?” said she.
According to the regional online news portal Northeast Now the IG (Jail) Dashrath Das has denied claims that there were no beds available at the Jagiroad facility.
Anjali has also asked that her brother be given a cellphone to communicate with family at such a fraught time. “We also demand that he be given mental and emotional support, as he needs it. Bodo leaders are calling me constantly and asking about his condition,” she said.
Also read: NDFB(R) Chief Ranjan Daimary Released on Bail, Taken to Delhi for Peace Talks With Centre
In January, Ranjan had been granted interim bail by a special division bench of the Guwahati high court, to take part in peace talks in New Delhi involving Bodo leaders and the Union government for a new Bodo peace accord. He had been ‘escorted’ to the Guwahati airport and was also asked to pay Rs 50, 000 as a ‘surety’ money. The court also asked the state government to make the necessary security arrangement for Ranjan’s safety during the four-week bail period.
The new Bodo peace accord was signed between the four factions of the NDFB which included leaders Ranjan, Dhiren Boro, B Saoraigra and Govinda Basumatary, Union home minister Amit Shah and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.