HT Impact: Negative RTPCR tests no longer mandatory for lodging accused in jail

The development comes a week after HT reported how the requirement, which continued despite the state government removing all other Covid-19 related restrictions and protocols, was increasing burden on the policemen.

Mumbai: The director general of prisons on Monday issued a notification cancelling the requirement of negative RTPCR test results, made mandatory during the Covid-19 pandemic, for the accused at the time of lodging them in jails across the state.

ARTHUR ROAD JAIL - HT PHOTO BY HEMANT PADALKAR 06/01/07

The development comes a week after HT reported how the requirement, which continued despite the state government removing all other Covid-19 related restrictions and protocols, was increasing burden on the policemen.

Amitabh Gupta, DG, Prisons, on Monday issued a notification stating that on April 23, 2021, orders were issued by the prisons headquarter, making it mandatory to admit new inmates in jails only on production of their negative RTPCR test results for Covid-19 infection.

“Presently, the prevalence of Covid-19 has been reduced,” it said, adding that from April 1, 2022, onwards, the state government has removed all restrictions and protocols imposed in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore there is no need to subject new inmates to RTPCR tests while lodging them in prisons.

“However, since Covid-19 infection is not completely over, and therefore appropriate precautions are required to be taken, if any symptoms are noticed in any of the inmates,” said the notification.

On August 10, HT highlighted in its report how once an arrested accused is remanded to judicial custody by the court, it took at least 12 hours to obtain their RTPCR test reports. This is because there are limited facilities – JJ Hospital in south Mumbai and a state-run facility in Borivali –available in the city for conducting the test and the police are required to take the accused all the way to the government hospitals and wait for hours there to get the test done.

“This is a big relief for Mumbai police as well as the policemen from other parts of the state,” said Vinayak Deshmukh, additional commissioner of police.

There are more than 90 police stations in the city and the police register between 80 and 100 cases every day and arrest at least 50 accused in these cases daily. Almost equal number of accused are remanded in judicial custody every day.

This had only meant that many policemen were required to be deployed for taking the accused to hospital for RTPCR test and obtaining report and then taking the accused to the jail, said another officer. He added that this staff can now be used for some other work.

“It was ironical that the system of mandatory tests continued only in jails despite the pandemic having abated and all Covid 19-related restrictions lifted for civil society,” said the second police officer.