NEW DELHI: A 43-year-old under-trial prisoner of Tihar Jail died on Tuesday, a day after he tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.
Mohammad Anish, lodged in prison since December 2019 in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and was admitted to a jail hospital with mild symptoms, they said.
"On Tuesday morning, his condition deteriorated and he was referred to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in emergency. Later, he died in the hospital in the afternoon," Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said.
This is the third death of coronavirus-infected prison inmates in Delhi since the pandemic began last year.
Two COVID-19-positive inmates of Mandoli Jail died on June 15 and July 4 last year.
According to data shared by the prisons department, 267 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus since March 2021.
Of them, 22 have recovered and there are 245 active cases.
Ninety-two staff members have tested positive for the virus since March 2021.
One has recovered and 91 active cases are still there, according to the data.
The first coronavirus infection among inmates was reported in Rohini Jail on May 13, 2020.