Bhubaneswar: With the number of COVID-19 cases rising in the jails across the state, the prison authorities have asked the police to conduct RT-PCR test of the accused before sending them to judicial custody.
Though the authorities released a large number of undertrial prisoners (UTPs) on parole and shifted may to other jails, the coronavirus continues to infect. According to sources, 96 inmates of 10 jails were found to be infected by the virus. Besides, 17 staff of four jails have tested COVID-19 positive.
Considering the alarming situation despite several precautionary measures, Director General, Prison, SK Upadhay has made the request. “We have urged the police to conduct RT-PCR tests of the arrested persons before sending them to jails,” a news agency quoted Upadhay as saying.
As many as 17,509 inmates are lodged in 85 prisons of the state, an official said, adding that the first confirmed case was detected in the Puri jail on May 17.
Upadhay said 16,789 inmates have been released from different jails on parole in the wake of the pandemic. Besides, over 1,200 inmates have been shifted to other prisons to reduce the crowding, he added.
Meanwhile, the authorities of the Special Jail in Bhubaneswar conducted antigen tests of 150 inmates and all the prisoners are being given a herbal concoction to boost immunity, said jail superintendent Dhiren Kumar Barik.
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