Faizan Wani
Srinagar, May 19: A mere two percent of jail population in J&K has been inoculated against COVID-19 so far.
The details collected reveal that only 91 prisoners have been administered doses of COVID-19 vaccine in different prisons of the UT till date.
Of them 38 were inoculated in central jail Srinagar and 53 in Rajouri, the details further reveal. Not a single prisoner has been vaccinated against the deadly pandemic in remaining 11 jails of the UT.
After the outbreak of second wave of COVID-19, nearly 90 prisoners have tested positive for the pandemic in J&K.
As per figures revealed by the Prisons department on May 10, 4572 persons- convicts, undertrials and detainees- were lodged in 13 jails of the UT.
The disclosure that only 2 percent of prisoners have been inoculated till date has come to fore at a time when a high-level committee headed by Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey has directed the DGP Prisons to coordinate with the Health department to ensure vaccination of jail inmates as well as staff on priority.
The committee, also comprising Principal Secretary, Home Shaleen Kabra and DGP Prisons B.Srinivas, was constituted last year to decide on release of convicts/ undertrials to decongest prisons in the wake of outbreak of first wave of COVID-19.
It is pertinent to mention that J&K High Court has dismissed a petition that sought Covid-19 vaccination of prisoners lodged in different jails of the UT.
The Court had said that petitioners were at liberty submit a comprehensive representation regarding the registration and vaccination of the prisoners to the Director General of Prisons, UT of J&K.
“In the event any such representation is submitted, the Director General of Prisons, would consider it and take all possible and immediate steps for the registration and the vaccination of the prisoners or may formulate a policy or a scheme so that no inmate of the jail remains unvaccinated,” the Court said.
