Panjim: The death of convict Shailesh Mapari has raised eyebrows on the happenings at Colvale Central Jail with speculation raised that the murder-accused had COVID-19 like symptoms.
Mapari died of a heart attack at Asilo Hospital on December 21, shortly after the in-house dispensary directed his hospitalisation owing to his worsening health condition.
In what has also raised questions on security by IRB personnel, jail inmates have accused the central pool force of “restricting his movement to the hospital” from the main gate.
Sources told Herald that Mapari, who was convicted in 2006 for murdering his nephew, was (before his death) unwell for a couple of days. On December 21, he was rushed to the in-house dispensary after his condition worsened. The doctors on duty advised his treatment at a hospital.
While the jail authorities claim he died due to a heart attack, citing medical report; sources within the jail alleged that Mapari had COVID-19 like symptoms. “He was neither tested for COVID-19 while he was unwell nor after his death. All this despite him having some symptoms of COVID-19,” said an insider.
As alleged by some in the jail; quite a few prisoners are not keeping well. They now apprehend another outbreak of COVID-19. “Last mass testing was done many weeks ago. Since then the health of the inmates and staff are compromised,” said one of them.
Inspector General of Prisons Gurudas Pilarnkar dismissed the allegations as baseless. The officer said that no prisoner complained about it during his personal interaction with them during his latest visit to the Central Jail last weekend.
Weighing 43 kg, the feeble-looking Mapari was convicted at the age of 23 and since then has been ‘reformed.’ Pilarnkar said, “He regretted the crime since his conviction. We had proposed to the committee his pre-mature release and the meeting was scheduled soon. The convict was always good behaved and reformed,” the IGP said.
Mapari, Pilarnkar said, did not agree for parole although the department persuaded him for temporary release.
Meanwhile, the jail inmates have sought a First Information Report against the IRB personnel for restricting movement of the convict patient to the hospital, in what they alleged, led to his death.
