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In eight days, Covid cases go up from six to 108 in Delhi jails
On January 2, Delhi’s Tihar jail reported its first case after almost five months of the prison remaining free of the infection, prison authorities said. Between July 28, 2021, and January 2, 2002, not a single case of infection was reported in the three jails, they added
In the last eight days, Covid-19 cases among inmates and jail guards have increased from six to 108 inside Delhi’s three prison complexes -- Tihar, Rohini, and Mandoli.
On January 2, Delhi’s Tihar jail reported its first case after almost five months of the prison remaining free of the infection, prison authorities said. Between July 28, 2021, and January 2, 2002, not a single case of infection was reported in the three jails, they added.
With the infection spreading quickly inside the three jails, the prison department has now designated all its dispensaries as Covid-19 care centres and restricted the movement of inmates within the jails. There is a small dispensary in each of the 16 sub-jails across Tihar, Rohini, and Mandoli in addition to the two hospitals in jail number 3 (Tihar) and jail number 13 (Mandoli), which have been designated as Covid health centres.
“There are medical isolation cells in each jail. All new prisoners are first isolated and monitored for symptoms. They are sent to join other prisoners only if they do not show symptoms for over a week. Currently, we are conducting Rapid Antigen Tests in different jails. Most prisoners are asymptomatic,” said a senior jail officer.
About 70-100 new prisoners arrive at the three jails every day. About the same number of prisoners are also released on bail or acquitted in their cases.
The prison department has also installed a PSA oxygen plant at the central jail hospital. It is likely to become functional within a week. Authorities felt the prison needed its own oxygen plant during the second wave of the Covid-19 when most prisoners needed to be hospitalised because their oxygen levels dropped.
“All elderly prisoners in each sub-jail have been lodged together. A committee of prisoners in each jail monitors their oxygen levels and checks for symptoms,” the senior jail officer added.
Of the 108 cases, 66 are those of inmates while 48 jail officers have also tested positive for Covid-19. In the backdrop of the rising infections, the government and prison officers are on alert but are yet to call a high-powered committee meeting to discuss releasing prisoners to ensure social distancing in jail. Ensuring social distancing, which is the key to arresting the spread of Covid-19, is a major problem in Delhi jails because the jails hold nearly twice the number of prisoners against its sanctioned capacity. There are nearly 18,000 prisoners against a sanctioned capacity of 10,024 in the three prisons.
A high-powered committee(HPC) comprising representatives of the judiciary, government, prison, and police have in the past released prisoners to ensure social distancing. The HPC has identified 11 categories of undertrial prisoners such as those arrested for non-heinous crimes among other categories.
About 8,000 prisoners released by the HPC during the first two waves of Covid-19 infections are already out. Of the 8,000 prisoners, around 2,300 released to decongest the jail in April-May 2020 have not surrendered and have been declared as fugitives. Separately, 5,463 prisoners were released in April- May 2021. These 5,463 have not been asked to surrender because of a Supreme Court order. To be sure, these 5,463 prisoners are not fugitives.
Prison officers said they are yet to be informed of the HPC meeting. “If the cases are under control and the positivity rate does not increase rapidly, the HPC meeting may not even take place. Also, only 10 prisoners have been admitted to hospitals outside, so the situation is under control. Most prisoners are also recovering at the jail’s Covid centres,” a second prison officer said.
Since the pandemic broke out in March 2020, the three jails have collectively reported over 600 cases among prisoners and jail staff. Six prisoners have also died of the infection. One of the prisoners who died of Covid-19 was former gangster-turned-politician from Bihar Mohammed Shahabuddin.
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