Jailed Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal was granted a three-week interim bail by the Delhi high court on Monday to conduct the last rites of her father, Mahavir Narwal, who passed away of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) a day ago.
After Natasha’s father passed away on Sunday, Pinjra Tod tweeted, “We have lost Mahavir Narwal- comrade, father, friend, fellow traveller. He passed away 2 hrs back due to Covid-related complications. This is an immense loss for us and the larger community as for Natasha. He was a rock for many, a voice of sanity in the din..”
Natasha, booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has remained behind bars at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail since May last year when she was arrested for an alleged ‘premeditated conspiracy’ in the northeast Delhi riots in February that year.
Natasha Narwal’s brother, Aakash, is also in isolation after he tested positive for coronavirus. “Therefore, there is nobody else in the family to perform the last rites and cremation,” the court observed.
“In the interest of justice, we are of the view that the release of applicant is imperative in this hour of grief and personal loss,” the court further said.
Left activists and civil society groups had been demanding that political prisoners be released from jails in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat expressed condolences over Mahavir Narwal’s death. Women’s rights activist and CPIML politburo member Kavita Krishnan also lashed out at the government and said it was torture forcing feminists to be in prison while their loved ones die of Covid-19.
