‘6.1K of 36K inmates in state jails ailing’

MUMBAI: Around 17% — or 6,140 prisoners — of the total 36,195 inmates in jails across the state were ailing from skin, lung and heart diseases, cancer, tuberculosis, etc, in 2018, revealed a health survey conducted by prison authorities in the same year. The reason: Unhygienic conditions, lack of designated doctors in jails, and overcrowding.

The survey report, which was submitted to the home department in 2019, was accessed by HT recently. The majority of the ailing prisoners were from Jalgaon district jail-2, the report stated.

Shrikant Singh, principal secretary, home department, refused to comment without seeing the report. Home minister Anil Deskmukh didn’t respond to calls or messages.

The 2018 report stated that 42% — or 2,635 — of the 6,140 ailing prisoners were suffering from skin diseases, primarily itching. A total of 809 prisoners had heart reported that although the 60 prisons across the state had a capacity of 24,032 inmates, the current population was 50% higher, at 36,195. For example, the 2018 health report stated that as of December 31, 2018, the population of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai Central was 412% over its intake capacity. A former jail official said skin ailments are caused mainly owing to overcrowding, lack of hygiene, irregular bathing schedules and water shortage. The report stated that of the 2,635 prisoners with skin diseases, 350 were from Thane Central Jail, 250 from Aurangabad jail and 66 from Arthur Road jail. “Most barracks in Arthur Road or Thane Central Jails have a capacity of 50 to 60 prisoners, but house 200 to 250 prisoners. Inmates have to sleep close to each other. The heat and unhygienic situation leads to itching,” said a 25-year-old man who was released from Arthur Road jail in 2018.

Suresh Chavan, a retired deputy inspector general of prisons (DGP) and former member of the

Justice KS Radhakrishnan Committee on prison reforms, said, “Every year the jail superintendents send a report to the health department, requesting for a medical official or doctor, but they don’t allot doctors. We have noticed many doctors working with jails are unhappy, and get transfers.” Chavan said the prisons department should coordinate with the health department to fill up vacancies at jails. Meeran Borwankar, former state additional DGP, also said the lack of doctors in jails worsens the issue. “Very few doctors are willing to work in prisons. At one point we considered special recruitment of doctors only for the prisons department, but the plan was dropped as it was not cost-effective,” she said. Borwankar said the primary way to reduce ailments among prisoners was to reduce overcrowding. “Arthur Road and Thane prisons are overcrowded, inmates barely get place to sleep. Telemedicine, filling up vacancies of doctors, social workers will also help.”

MUMBAI: Domestic airlines paid around 10% more compensation to passengers for flight delays, cancellations and for denying boarding in 2019, than in 2018.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, the airlines paid a total amount of ₹44.72 crore in 2019 as compared to ₹40.94 crore in 2018 which is 9.23% more than 2018. This comes after the aviation ministry introduced the air passenger charter in 2019.

The domestic air passenger traffic grew to 144.1 million in 2019, an increase of just 3.74% as compared to the previous year. However, in 2018, the domestic air passenger traffic grew by 18.6% to 138.9 million.

DGCA data stated that the airlines had to spend ₹15.05 crore for denying boarding to passengers, ₹8.17 crore for cancellations and ₹21.50 crore for flights delayed for more than two hours, last year. However, in 2018, they had to pay ₹21.14 crore alone for denying boarding to passengers, ₹5.78 crore for cancelling flights and ₹14.02 crore for delaying flights.

The DGCA data, however, did not contain information about the amount spent as compensation individually by Goair and Indigo for compensating passengers for flight delays.

Jitender Bhargava, former executive director of Air India said, “The increase in compensation paid by the airlines only shows that they have been now bound to strictly follow the rules as stated by the aviation regulator in the air passenger charter.”

As per the air charter that was introduced by the aviation ministry in February 2019, if a passenger is denied boarding due to overbooking of a flight, he/she would be liable to hold airline for compensation if he/she is not given an alternate flight within one hour of the original flight’s departure.

Besides, the airlines also have to refund the total ticket cost to passengers in case of flight delay by more than six hours or offer an alternate flight.

MUMBAI: The Mankhurd police on February 20 received an email stating that seven people are going to Pakistan via Dubai to get training from a Pakistani intelligence agency to carry out a terror attack in India, however, investigations revealed that the email was a hoax, sent by a travel agent, part of a human trafficking racket, to cheat his customers of over ~ 1.75 crore.

“The seven people included six men from Thane and a woman from Karachi, Pakistan. They wanted to go to the United States (US) as their relatives lived there. As visas were difficult to get, their relatives contacted an agent, Ramish Sultan Dava, who charged ~25 lakh to ~30 lakh each for the visas. But after receiving the money, he sent an email to Mankhurd police to push the customers into a fake case of terrorism,” said

Datta Nalawande, deputy commissioner of police, crime branch. On February 20, police received an email, in which the sender identified himself as Ramish. “I have big information of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) group working in Mumbai…” read the email. He also mentioned a mobile number, which was of a Pakistani tourist agent Rizwan Syed.

Mumbai Police along with central agencies then interrogated the six people from Thane. Inquiries revealed that their relatives had contacted Dava and given him over ~ 25 lakh for each person. Dava also allegedly had an affair with a Pakisani woman, Kiran Shaukat Ali, and also wanted to bring her to the US, added the officer. Dava then contacted Syed who assured to bring all seven to the US via Dubai. “The plan was to get them Canadian visas in Dubai and then take them to the US from Canada,” added Nalawade.