RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: With 29 prisoners lodged in the Rajahmundry Central Prison reportedly being tested HIV positive, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh has taken a serious view of the issue.
AP High Court Acting Chief Justice C Praveen Kumar and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy have asked the Rajahmundry Central Prison authorities to come before the bench on Friday with a report. The bench gave the ruling while hearing a writ petition filed against the life imprisonment order by a lower court.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Deputy Superintendent of Rajahmundry Central Prison, S Raja Rao said, “All HIV-infected inmates residing within the facility, had the disease prior to coming there and did not infect anyone. The infected inmates have been shifted to a separate barrack. They are undergoing treatment. We are spending around Rs 3 lakh per month on the medical expenditure of the prisoners and are not facing any financial crunch.”
Not a single prisoner here has been indulging in illicit activities for they are under constant vigil, he added.
However, Medical Superintendent and District Coordinator of APVVP, Dr T Ramesh Kishore, told TNIE that only 21 out of the 29 HIV-infected jail inmates, had the disease prior to coming there. The remaining eight got infected after they entered the jail.
He further said that most of the infected were from Rajamahendravaram and surrounding areas in addition to one each from Guntur, Narasaraopeta, Tenali, Vijayawada and two from Anakapalle.