New arrivals in J&K prisons screened, suspects quarantined: DG Prisons

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Prisons, V K Singh on Sunday said that all new arrivals in J&K UT prisons are being screened and if any suspect is identified, he is quarantined in the isolation wards set up in every prison of the UT.

He said that all the prisoners and prison staff is being monitored on a daily basis and their body temperature is checked.

In an exclusive chat, Singh said that as far as J&K prisons are concerned, prisoners are being monitored every day and their body temperature is checked by trained doctors. “Not just the inmates but the prison staff is being monitored and checked for symptoms,” Singh said.

“We have set up quarantine and isolation facility in every prison in J&K. Our primary concern is new arrivals. We are regularly issuing updates on new arrivals,” the DG prisons said, adding that if a suspect from the new arrivals is found, he is immediately quarantined and kept in isolation by the doctors who always remain present in the jails of J&K.

He said that the prison staff is being provided with the thermal scanners while as both staff and prisoners are being provided with sanitizers, masks while as all jails are being cleaned and sanitized.

“We have stopped meeting between family members and inmates lodged in jails within J&K as a precautionary measure. Also, we have stopped guest lectures and experts who would frequent prisons for imparting training to prisoners etc,” Singh said.

Asked whether there was any headway on shifting Kashmiri prisoners lodged in various prisons out of J&K, the DG prisons said that it is the Home Department that has to take a call on it.

“When security forces have decided to call off travel, I think it is not feasible to shift prisoners lodged outside at this juncture as travel is the major means of transmitting virus. Still Home Department has the prerogative to take a call on this,” he said.