A first: Inmate from packed Amritsar jail found Covid infected

AMRITSAR : An undertrial of the Amritsar Central Jail, which is packed with around 3,000 inmates, has tested positive for coronavirus after being brought by the police on production warrant.Partap Singh, who had been lodged in the jail in a robbery case registered against him in Tarn Taran district, was brought on production warrant by Chatiwind police for questioning in a murder case on May 6.

According to the jail authorities, he had been living with around 200 inmates in a barrack of the jail. Chatiwind police station SHO Suhail Qasim Mir said, “Partap tested positive for croronavirus on Saturday. He is now admitted to Guru Nanak Dev hospital here.”After coming out of the jail, Partap came into the contact of around 24 people, including two judges and four policemen. ADGP (jails) Praveen Sinha said, “This is the first Covid-19 positive jail inmate in the state that had been living in a jail for a long time. Earlier, three cases had surfaced but these inmates were those who were sent to the jails after being arrested by the police recently.”

Earlier this week, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria,

a dreaded gangster, had tested positive for the contagious disease in Gurdaspur, but his second and third reports were found negative. He was brought on production warrant by Batala police from the Patiala jail.

Meanwhile, Punjab jail minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was not available for his comments despite HT’s repeated phone calls. Partap was also produced in local courts twice — on May 6 when he was brought from the jail and later on May 8.

Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Jugal Kishore said they have taken samples of the two JMICs for testing and others have been called for testing on Monday. He said, “The doctors deployed in the jail have been directed to screen all those inmates who had come into the accused’s contact. After their screening, all the inmates will be quarantined for 15 days.”

HAD BEEN LIVING WITH AROUND 200 INMATES IN A BARRACK; CAME INTO CONTACT WITH 24 PEOPLE, INCLUDING TWO JUDGES AND FOUR COPS, SINCE MAY 6