With 113 Covid-19 cases in Odisha jails, prison officials ask for RT-PCR tests for all accused

In the Covid-19 hotspot of Ganjam district, 54 cases of the infection have been detected in prisons of Berhampur circle.

With 96 jail inmates in 10 of its jails and 17 prison officials testing positive for Covid-19, Odisha jail officials have asked the police to conduct RT-PCR tests on all accused to detect the infection before sending them to judicial custody.

Odisha jail officials have asked the police to conduct RT-PCR tests on all accused to detect the infection before sending them to judicial custody. (HT PHOTO.)

“We have urged the police to conduct RT-PCR tests of arrested persons before sending them to jails,” Director General, Prisons, S K Upadhyay said.

On May 15, a person held in a robbery case in Puri district was the first accused in the state to test positive for Covid-19. After that there have been several cases where the accused have tested positive. In the Covid-19 hotspot of Ganjam district, 54 cases of the infection have been detected in prisons of Berhampur circle. Last month, over 500 prisoners in Rourkela jail had gone on a hunger strike demanding transfer of 6 Covid-19 positive inmates to a different ward.

Officials said over the last four months, 16,789 inmates including 5,231 inmates in Berhampur circle were released from jails across the state on parole to decongest prisons in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 17,509 inmates are lodged in the 85 prisons of the state. Besides, 1,200 inmates have been shifted to other prisons in order to reduce crowding.