DHANBAD: Eleven inmates of Dhanbad Divisional Jail, including former Jharkhand MLA Sanjeev Singh, have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Tuesday.
The former BJP MLA from Jharia constituency is lodged in prison since April 2017 in connection with the murder of his cousin and former deputy mayor of Dhanbad, Neeraj Singh.
RT-PCR tests of 555 prisoners were conducted on Monday and the results of 11 inmates returned positive, Dhanbad Jail Hospital's Medical Officer Dr Alok Vishwakarma said.
"The infected inmates have been shifted to an isolation ward on the jail premises," he said, adding that Singh was already in a separate cell.
The samples of 154 prisoners, jail staffers and security personnel were collected for testing on Tuesday, Dr Vishwakarma said.
RT-PCR tests of jail inmates are being conducted as per instructions of Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Sandip Kumar.