NEW DELHI: A 61-year-old undertrial prisoner of Tihar Jail died in a hospital in Delhi five days after he tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Mukesh Talwar, a resident of Jain Park, New Delhi, they said.
"Talwar, an inmate of central jail number 7 of Tihar, was tested for COVID-19 and found positive on April 22. He was referred to GTB Hospital and admitted there on the same day. Later, information was received that he has expired in the hospital on Tuesday," Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said.
He was admitted in the jail on March 9, in a case registered under the POCSO Act at Bindapur police station, the officials said.
On Tuesday, a 43-year-old under-trial prisoner of Tihar Jail also died due to coronavirus.
Mohammad Anish, lodged in prison since December 2019 in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and was admitted to a jail hospital with mild symptoms.
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.
Four inmates died due to coronavirus 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, 284 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus since March 2021.
A total of 115 staff members have tested positive for the virus since March this year.
The first coronavirus infection among inmates was reported in Rohini Jail on May 13, 2020.