Another inmate dies from illness in Muzaffarnagar district jail, third such death in 4 days

A third inmate has died due to illness at the Muzaffarnagar District Jail, officials said on Thursday.

The inmate, Sanjay, was lodged in the jail since 2015 in a murder case.

Sanjay was admitted to the district hospital on Wednesday where he was declared dead, according to jail superintendent AK Saxena. The official did not elaborate on the illness the prisoner was suffering from. Sanjay is the third inmate to have died from illness in four days.

A 70-year-old woman, Sheela, serving life term in the district jail in a murder case died of heart failure on Sunday.

A day earlier, another prisoner Israr died of kidney failure.

In a bid to decongest the district jail to prevent the spread of coronavirus, 170 inmates have been released on parole till April 1.

The district jail, which also houses prisoners from the adjacent Shamli district, had over 2,000 inmates as of Wednesday against a total capacity of 870.

A district-level committee is scrutinising cases on the basis of merit for the release of prisoners.