No Covid positive inmate at Delhi’s three jails, says prisons DG

There is no inmate with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection at the three prisons in Delhi, prisons director-general (DG) Sandeep Goel said, after the last

There is no inmate with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection at the three prisons in Delhi, prisons director-general (DG) Sandeep Goel said, after the last of the two Covid-19 positive patients was declared recovered on Thursday.

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However, two members of the Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP), the force that provides security inside the prison, are yet to recover from the disease, Goel said.

The three prison complexes -- Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini -- have reported 232 Covid-19 cases till date. These include 63 prisoners, 87 jail staff and 82 members of the TSP, Goel said.

Two inmates have succumbed to the virus infection so far. “Both were senior citizens jailed in Mandoli,” the prisons DG said.

The dead included a 1984 riots convict Mahender Yadav, who had succumbed to the disease at a private hospital in Dwarka during treatment.

The officer said of the 63 inmates, only two were detected positive this month -- both on August 3. “Now, both of them have recovered, leaving us with no Covid-19 positive inmates. But two staffers continue to remain infected while the remaining 167 have recovered,” he said.

Tihar jail is the most populated prison complex in the country and houses around 18,000 prisoners. Since March, around 4,000 prisoners have been released on interim bail and emergency parole in a bid to “reduce overcrowding” and to contain the spread of Covid-19. Many of them have since returned to jails after they were allegedly found involved in crimes.

Prison officials said they have managed to contain the spread of Covid-19 among prisoners by implementing measures such as isolating all new prisoners for 14 days before lodging them with the others. In March, the prisons department had also suspended the bi-weekly family visits of all prisoners. All court hearings are also being held via video conferencing.

The prisons department has also started a virtual visit (video conferencing) facility with family members in Tihar. This facility will soon be extended to all 15 sub-jails of the three jail complexes.