Prisons dept mulls ways to curb spread of virus

The prison department of Maharashtra has written to the court seeking hearings through video-conferencing of undertrial and convicts to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

The prison department of Maharashtra has written to the court seeking hearings through video-conferencing of undertrial and convicts to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

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Jail authorities have also initiated various measures to curb the spread of the virus among inmates by screening new entrants before keeping them with existing inmates. Apart from this, advisory posters have been put up in jails, and inmates are encouraged to maintain hygiene.

Efforts are also on to transfer 300-350 inmates from Arthur Road jail to Taloja jail to reduce overcrowding.

Deepak Pandey, inspector general of police (prisons), confirmed about the letter written to the court and said, “All the jails across Mumbai and suburbs and other districts in Maharashtra have sent letters to the sessions as well as lower courts seeking hearing through video-conferencing. In cases of emergency, the accused can be produced in the court. So far, no case has been detected across Maharashtra jails. We are taking precautionary measures among inmates to avoid the spread of the disease,” added Pandey.

Yogesh Desai, inspector general of police (prison) western region said, “The Bombay high court had issued a direction to all subordinate courts to opt for video-conferencing and avoid bringing the accused to court. All staff at the intervening and entry point are provided with face masks and are using hand sanitisers to stay safe from the disease. We have put up posters across the jails coaxing inmates to take precautionary measure and maintain hygiene,” added Desai.

“Earlier, we had to take all the inmates inside, but now inmates with symptoms of cough and cold are sent to JJ Hospital and if he tests positive, he will be further sent to Kasturba Hospital for treatment,” said the officer.

He added the Arthur Road Central jail having a capacity of 804 inmates’ houses over 3,700 inmates. “We are fighting to curb the overcrowding, which is an issue. Taking the coronavirus on priority we are planning to send around 300 to 350 inmates to Taloja jail,” said a police officer.

A constable from the Maharashtra jail said, “Only the staff at the intervening and entry points are given face masks. What about the inmates inside the jail. The condition they are living in is not very healthy,” he added.