A 43-year-old foreign national, who was lodged at Tihar jail number 6, passed away during treatment in a city hospital, prison officials said on Friday.
The deceased was among the foreign inmates who were protesting in jail for their release on the basis of interim bail. The Tihar Jail authority had released several inmates to reduce overcrowding in prisons to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.
According to the official, the inmate from Uganda had suffered injury in her right hand during unrest by some foreign inmates in jail number 6 [women jail] on June 16.
A senior official said that the woman inmate was sent to the Orthopedic Department of Deen Dayal Upadhayay Hospital for a surgery of right hand (dislocation of metacarpal joint). During the process, she expired, probably due to cardiac arrest, they said.
Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said: “She was under regular medical observation in the jail. The jail orthopaedic doctor treated her with ‘close reduction’ as per medical practice. When this did not work, she was referred to DDU Hospital, where the doctors after examination decided to go for ‘open reduction and K wire fixation’.” He added that other parameters were normal and she did not have any co-morbidity.
Officials said that the woman had been lodged in jail since July 6 last year after a case was registered against her by Narcotics Control Bureau. “Legal action has been taken. Inquest proceedings are being conducted,” the official said.
