Jailed Assam KMSS leaders Bitu Sonowal, Dhaijya Konwar test COVID-19 positive; Akhil Gogoi has symptoms, say reports

Bitu Sonowal and Dhaijya Konwar, leaders of the Assam-based farmers rights organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to local media reports. The duo, serving a sentence at the Guwahati Central Jail for their role in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests, was taken on Wednesday night and put up in a makeshift cam in Panbazar.

#Breaking | Jailed KMSS leaders Bitu Sonowal + Dhaijjya Konwar have tested #Covid19 +ve inside Guwahati Central Jail where they were lodged since more than 200 days. #AkhilGogoi & Mana Konwar's test results haven't yet been released but it is suspected that they are +ve too.

— Aditya Sharma (@aditya_shz) July 9, 2020

Meanwhile, sources have claimed KMSS adviser Akhil Gogoi, who was booked under the UAPA Act and imprisoned during the movement against the CAA , has also been infected with COVID-19. Dasarath Das, IGP of Guwahati Central Jail, however denied the claims and said that the leader had shown no symptoms for the viral infection. “Reports of Akhil Gogoi testing COVID-19 positive is fake. Media houses saying that he has been mistreated and has tested positive for the virus is not true,” said Das speaking to Northeast Now. The report further said that both Bitu and Dhaijya were first admitted to the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) on Wednesday and later shifted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Thursday morning. Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government received criticism from, Kamal Kumar Medhi, former longstanding deputy of Akhil Gogoi for taking a casual approach in dealing with the deteriorating health of the jailed leaders. Meanwhile, Tarun Gogoi, three-time former Chief Minister of Assam, has also demanded the state government to release Akhil Gogoi, and his aides from jail. On Wednesday, the veteran Congressman launched a scathing attack at the BJP-ruled state government, while assuring that the Grand Old Party will provide legal help to the jailed peasant leaders.