TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the food poisoning episode in the Central Aguada Jail and Mapusa judicial lock-up, which left one prisoner dead and several others suffering Friday.
Inspector General of Prisons Mihir Vardhan said Additional District Magistrate Dipak Desai has been appointed as the inquiry officer. “We have appointed him (Desai) to inquire into the incident and submit a detailed report in 30 days,” he told Herald.
Forty-two-year-old murder convict Mahadev Gaonkar’s death due to suspected food poisoning prompted the Prisons Department to order medical examination of 139 inmates from the two jails on Thursday. Some of them took ill due to the same cause.
A team of six Health Services doctors examined the inmates in the jail premises.
Earlier speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said, “I don’t cook the food, but I have called for an inquiry. I am told that Collector has (ordered a) magisterial inquiry.”
Gaonkar was brought dead to the Primary Health Centre, Candolim, from the Central Jail after he reportedly complained of loose motions. The post-mortem has been conducted, but the cause of death has been reserved pending a chemical analyses report. Vardhan said the doctors would be sending the viscera samples to CFSL, Hyderabad.
Until Friday night, 35 prisoners were admitted to GMC and Mapusa District Hospital for treatment. At the time of going to press on Friday 17 inmates were discharged while four were still at the Mapusa hospital and 15 at GMC.
Vardhan said they would be discharged latest by Sunday morning after doctors confirmed that they are out of danger and stable.
A team of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has already taken samples of water and raw food from the jails, while they could not get the sample of the dinner, which resulted in the suspected food poisoning.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the inquiry officer has been asked to put forth recommendations so that such incidents do not occur again. All the inmates from the two jails, treating doctors, FDA officials and police will be quizzed as a part of the inquiry. It is learnt that Superintendent of Aguada Jail Gopal Parsekar was on leave Friday and Additional IGP Damodar Shanke was holding the additional charge.
