The Thane Central Jail recorded its first coronavirus case on Thursday after a constable posted there tested positive. The constable has since been quarantined. Meanwhile, the number of cases in Thane rose to 2,604 on Thursday evening.
The constable is asymptomatic. “The constable who tested positive was posted at the jail’s outer gate,” jailer Sharad Ahirao stated on Thursday. “While he was asymptomatic, he was tested after he informed us that three persons in his building in central Mumbai had tested positive for the coronavirus. The constable and two other policemen who came into contact with him have been quarantined.”
The overcrowded jail that houses high-profile undertrials, including murder accused Chintan Upadhayay and accused-turned-approver Shyamvar Rai, who was the driver of Sheena Bora murder accused Indrani Mukerjea, has released 650 prisoners on temporary bail over the past few weeks. This is part of a statewide effort to decongest prisons.
On May 15, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had announced that 3,500 inmates in jails in Thane district would be released in compliance with recommendations of the State High Power Committee.
According to jail authorities, none of the facility’s inmates are currently displaying any symptoms of the novel coronavirus. Authorities, however, are monitoring them on a regular basis. “We are lucky that the constable did not have any interaction with inmates inside the jail,” said Ahirao.
The jail authorities at Thane also took a preemptive decision to move elderly undertrials and separate them from the other prisoners at the start of the pandemic, Ahirao stated.
In an affidavit filed by the prison department before the Bombay High Court, the authorities at Thane jail had stated that officers and staffers were given homeopathy tablets from the Ministry of AYUSH earlier this month. Face masks had been manufactured in the jail and distributed among the inmates. Regular fogging and sanitisation of the jail was also being conducted, the affidavit stated.
A source at the prison said that while the prisoners were being taken care of, the jail staff were working in 21-day lockdown rotations and that only their temperatures were being monitored. They are not being tested for the virus, the source said. Mirror’s attempts to contact deputy municipal commissioner Sandeep Malvi for his comment on the claim went unanswered.
Three prisoners in the state have died due to the coronavirus so far, one each from Taloja, Yerawada and Dhule. A total of 175 prisoners have tested positive, 158 of whom are from Arthur Road Jail. Prison authorities have taken over empty structures near jails across the state to lodge infected inmates.
In Pictures: Guarding the COVID19 frontlines: Men and women in uniform
They are putting their lives at risk as they take guard on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19. Men and women in uniform who are putting their duty before their safety. Mirror photographers chronicle their life in this lockdown - where they have to handle everything from agitated residents to anxious migrants and even errant pranksters. Photo by Satyajit Desai/ MMCLA team from Dadar police station, headed by senior police inspector Diwakar Shelke, police inspector Sunayana Nate, assistant police inspector Shivaji Devkar and two constables Jayesh Ghoderao and Rahul Gadekar, couldn’t go home for two days as they were busy sealing off the densely populated Worli-Koliwada where two people died of Coviod-19 and 17 persons had tested positive. Photo by Satyajit Desai/ MMCLAround 100 cops were deployed to man the approach roads. The police identified the vulnerable areas like Janta Colony, Walmiki Nagar, Golfadevi temple road and Adarsh Nagar to seal them off with the help of BMC. “We made sure that nobody could go out or enter the contaminated zone. The police kept a watch on the roads that led to the sea so that people did not use the beach from Koliwada to Prabhadevi,” said Sunayana Nate, an inspector from Dadar police station. Photo by Nilesh Wairkar/ MMCLIndia is between Stage 2 and 3 of coronavirus pandemic with large number of cases being found in particular areas, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry concurred with the director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who had said that localised community transmission is being observed in some pockets of the country. Photo by Sachin Haralkar/ MMCLMore than 200 enclaves have been marked as containment zones and sealed off from the rest of the city. No-one is allowed to enter or leave these zones except for those providing essentials such as food and medicines. In some places, residents are given rations to last 21 days, while at others, designated security guards buy people’s supplies in bulk. All the zones are sprayed with disinfectant every few days. Photo by Deepak Turbhekar/ MMCL1838 - that's the number of cases the Mumbai police have registered against those who have flouted the lockdown conditions, without good reason. Given the rapid spread of the virus - Maharashtra has now recorded over 1000 COVID-19 positive cases - police continue to check on those who violate the lockdown, filing cases against those who do not manage to back up their claims with enough proof. Photo by Satyajit Desai/ MMCLOut of all the cases registered by the Mumbai police, many people have been charged under section 188 for violating provisions of the lockdown. Over 1400 were let off after a warning while over 100 are absconding. In Mira- Bhayandar, after it was noticed that people were using the most flimsy excuses to step out of their homes under the pretext of buying groceries, the municipal corporation put out an order directing all stores to stay shut between 5pm and 9pm, except pharmacies. The idea is to reduce the number of people who want to step out in the evening for a joyride using 'grocery purchase' as a handy excuse. Photo by Satyajit Desai/ MMCLA week after the BMC declared eight buildings at Bimbisar Nagar in Goregaon (East) a Covid-19 containment zone, Monday, April 6, brought some good news for residents. No new cases have been reported from the area, seven of the eight buildings were freed from the restrictions and only one building remained sealed off, police sources said. The building that remains sealed is the one where three residents had tested positive, prompting the creation of the containment zone. Located off the Western Express Highway near Mahanand Dairy, Bimbisar Nagar comprises 31 buildings. The eight buildings that were sealed off comprise 336 flats. Photo by Satyajit Desai/ MMCLThe BMC, with the help of the police, has put together ‘flying squads’ for night patrol of the city’s various containment zones - enclaves which have been sealed off to prevent the spread of Covid-19. While civic officials and policemen are posted there during the day the civic body also wants a presence at night, to keep people from venturing out after dark. Photo by Sachin Haralkar/ MMCLPrashant Gaikwad, Assistant commissioner of BMC said, “These squads will comprise BMC officials and policemen. They will move around at night to check if anybody is trying to enter or leave a containment zone or is not practising social distancing.” Anyone with a home-quarantine stamp on their hand who is found roaming the streets will be institutionally quarantined in a hotel or lodge set aside for the purpose. Photo by Sachin Haralkar/ MMCLAccording to a circular issued by the Maharashtra Home Department on Tuesday, the decision not to conduct the inquest, which literally means--a judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts relating to an incident -- was taken keeping in mind that the procedure could expose the doctors, nurses, and policemen to the virus infection. Mumbai police spokesperson Pranay Ashok told Mirror Online that the Home Department order is in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Dead Body Management in case of coronavirus deaths. Photo by Sachin Haralkar/ MMCL
