First Covid case in Byculla women’s jail

The Byculla women’s prison reported its first Covid-19 case with a 54-year-old inmate testing positive on Sunday. This is the second jail in the city to get infected

The Byculla women’s prison reported its first Covid-19 case with a 54-year-old inmate testing positive on Sunday. This is the second jail in the city to get infected after 103 people – 77 inmates and 26 staffers – at Arthur Road jail tested positive on May 7.

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A jail official said a doctor attached with the jail had tested positive a few days ago, but added that the doctor was on leave for more than two weeks and was at home when his reports came positive.

According to the official, the prisoner was arrested by Kharghar police in a cheating case in 2017 and has not secured bail till now. It is still not certain how the woman contracted the virus.

The woman fell sick on May 7 and was referred to JJ Hospital as her oxygen saturation level had fallen below 90%. Her first Covid test came negative on May 8, but as her condition did not improve, a second test was conducted on May 9 and it came positive.

“The inmate was then shifted to St George Hospital where she is currently undergoing treatment” said Deepak Pandey, inspector general of police (prison).

The prison houses several high profile inmates including Sheena Bora murder accused Indrani Bora, activists Sudha Bharadwaj and Shoma Sen who were arrested by Pune Police in 2018 for their alleged connection to the Elgar Parishad case.

Byculla women’s prison is the only jail for women inmates in the city and also has a male barrack.

“Byculla jail originally had a capacity of 262 inmates, but after construction of new barracks inside the jail, it has increased to 400 inmates. Currently, there are 325 inmates lodged in Byculla jail,” said a jail official.

Last week, 276 people were tested in Arthur Road jail, of whom 103 people – 77 inmates and 26 jail staffers – tested positive for Covid-19. A jail official said, “All 77 inmates have been shifted to a quarantine facility in Mahul near Chembur under proper police protection.”