No prisoner has tested positive for Covid-19 in J&K jails: DG Prisons

Despite a huge surge in the second wave of Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir, no prisoner lodged in 13 major jails of the Union Territory (UT) has tested positive for coronavirus so far.

“There are 4,550 prisoners lodged in 13 jails across J&K at the moment; none has tested positive for Covid,” official figures reveal.

In Kotbalwal jail Jammu, there are 884 prisoners; in Central Jail Srinagar, 612 prisoners; district jail Jammu, 666; district jail Kathua, 345; district jail Udhampur, 474; district jail Bhaderwah, 171; district jail Rajouri, 251; district jail Baramulla, 300; district jail Kupwara, 261 and district jail Anantnag has 285 prisoners, the figures state.

There have been seven new arrivals to the various jails of J&K besides the previous figure of 206. Official documents suggest there is no congestion in any of the prisons and the number of prisoners is less than available capacity in all jails.

Director General Prisons J&K, V K Singh, said all new arrivals are being accepted only with Covid-19 negative certificates. “In case of a Covid-positive prisoner, he/she is being shifted to Government Medical College (GMC) with a guard till he recovers,” he said.

“Even negative cases on arrival are put under mandatory quarantine. We keep the immune system of inmates in good form by allowing inmates to talk to next of kins (NoKs), play cultural/sports, good sleep etc. Besides, every prisoner wears face masks, uses sanitisers while jails are being fumigated constantly,” the DG Prisons added.

These figures from J&K jails come at a time when reports continue to pour in from New Delhi about some Kashmiri prisoners testing positive for Covid-19.