COVID-19: NHRC writes to States, UTs, seeks information on COVID management in prisons

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent surge in cases, the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) on Thursday wrote a letter to all the States and Union Territories seeking information from them regarding the infrastructure and the medical practices that are being followed across the prisons in the country to tackle the outbreak. 

Read: Over 350 Prisoners Test Positive For COVID-19 In T'puram Central Jail

Questionnaire sent to States/UTs

The Commission wrote letters to Director General and Inspector General of prisons of each State and Union Territory to inquire about the practices being used by them to keep the virus in check in jails requesting an account of the number of prisoners and the medical facilities that were available in the jail premises. Apart from this, the NHRC has also sought responses from States and UTs on a questionnaire based on six points to inform the condition of prisons with specific reference to COVID management. The States/UTs have been asked to submit their reply by August 31.

In the past few weeks, many states have been reporting a rise in the number of Coronavirus cases in prisons. As many as 1,478 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths have been reported from 27 jails in Maharashtra so far, an official from the prisons department said on Friday to news agency PTI. A similar outbreak of the virus was reported from Thiruvananthapuram central jail here with more than 350 inmates testing positive in the last week and murder accused succumbing to the virus.

Read:COVID-19: 27 Maharashtra Jails Record 1,478 Cases; Six Deaths

(With Agency Inputs)