Around 82 inmates fall ill, rushed to JJ Hospital

Around 82 prisoners of Byculla Jail have been admitted to Mumbai’s JJ Hospital on Friday, 20 July. The prisoners were taken to the hospital after they had complained of vomiting and abdominal pain and will be kept under observation for at least 48 hrs, Medical Superintendent of JJ Hospital, Dr Sanjay Surase, informed.

The inmates started to be admitted to the hospital around 10 am after they informed the jail authorities about the health problems, the sources said.

The dean of the hospital, Mukund Tayade, confirmed that 78 patients were admitted to the hospital till noon and the number was expected to go up. He added that it would be premature to comment upon the cause of the supposed vomiting, nausea and giddiness.

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“Seventy eight patients have so far been admitted. Few more are likely be brought to the hospital. All of them complained about vomiting, nausea and giddiness,” he told PTI.

Two prisoners were said to be in a critical condition.

According to Inspector General of Prison Rajvardhan Sinha, the prisoners allegedly reacted to a strong medicine dose given by civic health department on Thursday as a precautionary measure to prevent cholera. “Soon after taking the medicine, the inmates started vomiting. We sent them to the hospital as a precaution. Most are stable,” he told The Indian Express. IG Sinha added that cleaning up of prison is underway and focus is to stabilise patients.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has claimed to have given a dose of prophylactic tablets to 600 prisoners in jail and over 100 staffers to prevent further spread of cholera. The Byculla Jail has 390 male and 210 female inmates.

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