3 die of TB in G'gram jail, all inmates to be tested

Gurugram, May 21

Taking note of three tuberculosis (TB)-related deaths in the past 18 days, the health authorities have ordered screening of all inmates of Bhondsi jail.

Chief Medical Officer of Gurugram, Dr Virender Yadav, said a special team that would screen all inmates had been deployed in the jail. Those with cough and fever would be tested for TB and the final report would be submitted by the screening team by tomorrow, he added.

A senior jail officer said there were 17 TB patients in the jail. Of them, two had completed the medicine course, three had died and remaining 12 were under treatment.

The deaths have also rattled the state jail administration as DGP (Prisons) Mohammad Akil said a judicial inquiry would be marked in the issue. “As per the procedure, we will start a judicial inquiry into the deaths. We will also review the health of all inmates,” Akil told The Tribune.

Three jail inmates, including Citibank’s former relationship manager Shivraj Puri, the alleged mastermind of Citibank scam of Rs 400 crore in 2010, have died due to TB in the past 18 days.

Notably, Shivraj Puri (46) died in Delhi’s LRS hospital on Thursday morning. On May, 2, inmate Shakeel (27), a resident of Nuh district, lodged under the POCSO Act had died at LRS hospital. Another inmate, identified as Sandeep alias Sonu (45), a resident of Inchapuri village and convicted for a murder case in 2010, had also died.