19 inmates at Ambala Central Jail tested HIV positive

Nineteen inmates of the Ambala Central Jail were tested positive for HIV, officials said on Sunday.

They are now getting treatment at the Postgraduate Institute of Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

Jail Superintendent Lakhbir Singh Barar told reporters here that the National AIDS Control Society had launched a campaign for the detection of HIV, TB, and cataract in the jail.

"Test reports revealed that 19 inmates of the jail were HIV positive while 47 suffered from cataract," he said.

Treatment was being provided to the cataract patients, he said.

He said all new inmates were tested for HIV before sending them to the barracks.

Awareness camps were also organised in the jail for the inmates, he added.