Pune: COVID Positive Jail Inmate Kept With Prisoners In Same Cell, Now 17 Found Positive

Pune, September 1, 2020: Last month, the Bombay High Court had issued a directive to all the state prison authorities to abide by all the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. They had also made it compulsory to conduct swab tests of new inmates but it seems like all these rules were flouted by the Indapur sub-district jail.

It came as a shock when all the 17 inmates in the two barracks of the Indapur sub-district jail had tested positive for the virus due to the negligence of the prison authorities. Even the two guards of the jail have tested positive for the virus.

This happened due to the casual approach of the jail authorities who allegedly kept a COVID-19 positive inmate amongst the others. They even forced the other inmates to use the common toilet. The relatives of the prison inmates have approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with the help of social activists accusing the prison authorities of their casual approach and negligence.

The families of the inmates are demanding for appropriate legal action against the authorities for putting the lives of their family members in danger. All the 17 positive patients have been shifted to the Indapur COVID-19 Care Centre (CCC) for treatment.

The superintendent of the Indapur sub-district jail MP Borade refuted the allegations of lapse on their part according to a Pune Mirror report. “We are following all COVID19 guidelines. The inmates were to be shifted to the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hostel CCC. But, before we could make the move, all the inmates got affected and tested positive for the virus. We have now shifted them to the Indapur CCC for treatment”, he said.

He added further, “The two security guards who had tested positive are currently undergoing treatment and we are now waiting for the reports of the other prison staff members.”