10,263 jail inmates get first dose of COVID vaccine till July 27 in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A total of 10,263 jail inmates have received the first dose of anti-COVID vaccine till July 27, informed sources.

A total of 1,754 persons were inoculated in Gauhati Central Jail; 635 in Silchar Central Jail; 517 in Nagaon Central Jail; 449 in Jorhat Central Jail; 439 in Dibrugarh Central Jail; 429 in Tezpur Central Jail.

Meanwhile, 570 inmates were vaccinated in Nalbari District Jail; followed by Dhubri District Jail (448); Tinsukia District Jail (455); Diphu District Jail (425); Sibsagar District Jail (415); Barpeta District Jail (397); Golaghat District Jail (337); Abhayapuri District Jail (279); Morigaon District Jail (268); Goalpara & North Lakhimpur District Jails (264); Karimganj District Jail (256); Kokrajhar District Jail (248); Dhemaji District Jail (238); Udalguri District Jail (209); Mangaldai District Jail (201); Biswanath Chariali District Jail (174); Hamren District Jail (72); Majuli District Jail (67); Hailakandi District Jails (45); Sonari District Jail (26); and Sadiya District Jail (25).

Moreover, 574 inmates were innoculated in Special Jail, Nagaon; followed by 36 in Haflong Sub Jail; and 26 in Open Air Jail, Jorhat.

Mentionably, the Gauhati High Court had directed the Assam government to arrange for vaccination of the around 4,000 of the 11,398 jail inmates, who are yet to be vaccinated. This direction was given by a Bench of the Chief Justice of the High Court, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak after hearing the PIL (Suo Moto) No. 4/2020.

The Bench observed, "Presently 11,398 persons have been locked up in different jails in Assam out of which only 7524 have been vaccinated. It has further been stated that out of these 7524 inmates, only 175 have been fully vaccinated. In fact, close to 4000 inmates are still to be vaccinated.

"We hereby issue an interim mandamus directing the concerned authorities to vaccinate the remaining inmates as early as possible. Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam, R.K. Bora, assured the Court that "the remaining inmates would be vaccinated most likely within a period of two weeks".

Also Read: COVID-19: Assam fast-moving to vaccinate 1 crore people

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