A disability rights group has written to the National Human Rights Commission chairperson demanding that the ailing and elderly Fr Stan Swamy, who is lodged in a Maharashtra jail over alleged Maoist links, be given the treatment and facilities he needs to survive.

In the letter to NHRC chairperson Justice H.L. Dattu on Tuesday, the CPM-backed National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) said that the condition of the 83-year-old Catholic priest was worsening because of the improper care he was receiving for Parkinson’s Disease.

The letter, written by NPRD general secretary Muralidharan, says: “Those living with Parkinson’s often have tremors (involuntary, uncontrollable muscle contractions manifesting as shaking in body parts, most often the hands)…. He has trouble eating because of the tremors. He is unable to take bath, bring water or wash clothes on his own.

“Fr Stan also has a serious hearing problem and needs hearing aids for both ears. He was operated twice for hernia in the recent past and hence may not be in a position to go through a strenuous schedule as demanded in the jail. He used to take daily steam inhalations too.”