Accused Before Going To Custody Will Go Through COVID 19 test

Bhubaneswar : The Odisha Prison Authority has asked the police to conduct RT-PCR test to detect coronavirus infection in accused before sending them to judicial custody.

According to sources in the state prison directorate, 96 inmates of 10 prisons in the state were found to have been infected by the novel coronavirus. Besides, 17 staff of four jails have tested positive for COVID-19.

The officials expressed anxiety over the viral infection spreading in prisons despite several precautionary measures. They said the highest 54 cases of coronavirus infection have been detected in prisons of Berhampur circle, that also includes Ganjam district which has been hit hardest by the pandemic in Odisha. “We have urged the police to conduct RT-PCR tests of the arrested persons before sending them to jails,” Director General, Prison, S K Upadhay told PTI