Growing Covid cases put jails in Odisha under scanner

BHUBANESWAR: Explosion of Covid-19 positive cases and exposure of the jail inmates and staffers to the invisible enemy has turned the spotlight on the prison management during this unprecedented pandemic.
At least 83 inmates and 15 personnel of different jails have so far been infected by the novel coronavirus. The jails have as yet not reported the death of any inmate or staffer due to the Covid-19 virus. Berhampur jail continued to give sleepless nights to the prison authorities as the southern city emerged as the worst-impacted region in the state. At least 54 inmates and 14 staffers of Berhampur jail have so far been detected positive for Covid virus.
Even though the jails in the state are not overcrowded, the source of the transmission is suspected to be linked to some under-trial prisoners and subsequent breach of the protocol by the personnel of the police and prisons. The first Covid positive case of an inmate was reported in Puri jail on May 17.
Jail authorities said police should conduct RT-PCR test of accused persons before sending them to judicial custody. “The Orissa high court already directed the police to refrain from making arrests of accused in petty cases or offences where the maximum sentence is up to seven years. But we often found that the police were arresting accused in petty cases. Police produced the accused in physical or virtual courts, which subsequently remanded them to judicial custody without ordering RT-PCR test of the accused,” a jail official said.
“If an accused enters the jail without being tested, this may lead to transmission. The only prevention lies with the police,” the official added.
Police said in most cases it was difficult to get RT-PCR report of the accused within 24 hours. “We have to produce an accused in court within 24 hours after the arrest. Since the testing laboratories are flooded with samples, it is difficult these days to get reports quickly. We are just doing our job,” a police officer said.
“We have a very tight protocol to combat the virus. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being revised depending on the situation. We have again asked all jails to strictly follow the protocols, which included isolation of new under-trial prisoners, regular health monitoring of prisoners and staffers, social distance in cells and proper hygiene inside prisons,” deputy inspector general (prisons) Gopabandhu Mallick said.
Mallick said the authorities in Berhampur jail have specifically been asked to take precautions. “We have set up a Covid care centre inside the jail premises to treat the affected inmates. Inflow of new inmates has almost stopped as the police are making arrests only in cases of heinous offences,” Mallick said.
Sources said the prisons directorate is also planning to send new accused persons to jails located in non-hotspot districts. As part of the ongoing de-congestion process in jails, at least 7,255 inmates of different jails in the state have so far been released on bail and parole. Official statistics said the capacity of 85 jails in the state is 19,016. At present, the population in the jails is 16,931.
“We already introduced e-mulakat for prisoners to prevent their relatives from visiting the jails. All prisoners have been provided with masks, soaps and sanitizers. We are also checking the travel history of new prisoners, conducting disinfection of prison premises and testing of prisoners and staffers in a phased manner,” Mallick said.
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