Bhubaneswar: Panic gripped the staff and prisoners of Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar after an under-trial prisoner in the jail died while undergoing treatment at a hospital before testing positive for COVID-19, Tuesday.
The information was shared by the jail authority Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Jugal Khandual.
Police arrested Khandual for his alleged involvement in the Chit Fund Scam case. He has been lodged in jail since 2019.
According to jail authority, Khandual had developed flu like symptoms and complained of fever, for which he was admitted at Capital Hospital in Unit-VI, September 13.
The doctors there took his swab samples for COVID-19 testing. As his condition deteriorated, the jail authority shifted him to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, September 14.
However, Khandual breathed his last while undergoing treatment Tuesday morning. His swab samples report came out positive for COVID-19 Tuesday afternoon.
After this development, the Jail authority has requested the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for COVID-19 tests of jail inmates as Khandual came in contact with various inmates of the jail.
The fire brigade team is sanitising the jail premises for the safety of the inmates.
PNN