India's Packed Prisons Raise Corona Alarm

Tihar, other jails rush to release thousands of inmates on parole or bailSituation will go out of hand if COVID spreads in crammed cells, warn docs

- Tanushree Pandey

AS authorities scale up efforts to flatten the rising Coronavirus curve, many Indian prisons already bursting at the seams have emerged as potential infection hotspots.

Several states, including Delhi, are scrambling to release thousands of inmates on parole, furlough or bail as epidemiologists warn that things will spiral out of control if the virus starts spreading inside these jails.

This is after the Supreme Court directed all states and Union Territories on March 16 to submit written replies on steps being taken to prevent the spread of the pandemic among prisoners and juveniles.

On March 23, it suggested that prisoners convicted of, or charged with, offences involving jail terms of seven years or less could be considered for parole or interim bail.

“Indian prisons are infamous for being overcrowded. They have 17 per cent more prisoners than their full capacity. They have males, females and children, who are born inside, mostly below the age of 5, said Dr KK Aggarwal, cardiologist and president of the Heart Care Foundation of India.

“Now at a time when social distancing is the key to breaking the chain of infections, this kind of overflowing occupancy in prisons is a matter of grave concern,” he said.

“Sanitation facilities in prisons are horrible. Learning from other countries who are in far worse conditions, prison authorities need to make sure that inmates maintain 6-foot distance,” Dr. Aggarwal said.