Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Sunday appealed to the Maharashtra government to allow scholar Anand Teltumbde to remain outside jail in view of such freedom being granted to inmates to check the spread of Covid-19 in jail.

The Supreme Court had recently rejected the bail application of Teltumbde in a case linked to his alleged role in the Elgar Parishad issue.

“Due to the possibility of the Covid-19 outbreak, the kachha kaidis (undertrial prisoners) are allowed to stay outside on parole. The Maharashtra government can grant this to Teltumbde,” Ambedkar told The Telegraph on the phone.

The Supreme Court has rejected the pre-arrest bail application of Teltumbde last week for the second time within a month. The apex court has asked him to surrender before the police within a week. The deadline ends on April 14.