Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal’s father Mahavir Narwal died of the novel coronavirus infection on Sunday, family sources said.
Natasha was arrested in May last year for allegedly being part of a premeditated conspiracy in the northeast Delhi riots in February that year. She has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The activist has been lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi.
“Mahavir Narwal was not able to speak to his daughter who is in jail. His son, Aakash, who is also COVID-19 positive, was there with him in Rohtak,” sources close to the family said.
Left activists and civil society groups had recently demanded that “political prisoners” be released from jails in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
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.
“Modi regime tortures feminists, forcing them to be in prison while loved ones die of Covid-19. Young @PinjraTod activist Natasha Narwal is in prison for the crime of protest – under UAPA law which does not allow for bail. Her lovely father Mahavir Narwal just died of Covid-19,” she said on Twitter.
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