Bhubaneswar, Feb 18: The state’s prison system is facing a serious health crisis, with official data revealing 572 deaths of undertrial prisoners and convicts over the past decade. The figures, submitted by the Jail Department to the National Crime Records Bureau, point to significant gaps in healthcare and security arrangements inside correctional facilities.
According to the data, between 2014 and 2023, a total of 572 inmates died due to various illnesses while in custody. The highest number of deaths was recorded in 2014, when 87 inmates lost their lives. The toll stood at 75 in 2020 and 60 in 2021, while 2015 recorded the lowest number of deaths at 45.
Malaria and cerebral malaria emerged as the leading causes of death, accounting for 243 fatalities. Heart disease and heart attacks claimed 81 lives, followed by kidney-related ailments (40), cancer (23), tuberculosis (18), and lung infections (15). In addition, 14 inmates died of brain strokes, 11 from liver-related diseases including jaundice and cirrhosis, four from AIDS, and two due to diarrheal illnesses.
The high incidence of malaria-related deaths has raised concerns about mosquito control and sanitation measures within prison premises. Similarly, fatalities linked to kidney disease and diarrheal infections have drawn attention to the quality of drinking water available to inmates.
Security lapses have also come under scrutiny. During the same period, 34 inmates reportedly died by suicide by hanging, prompting questions over monitoring and mental health support systems inside jails.
While each prison is equipped with a hospital facility and staffed with doctors, pharmacists, and nursing personnel, and funds are allocated for medicines, the data suggests that these measures may not be sufficient. Some major prisons have been designated as referral centres to enable inmates to access advanced treatment at medical colleges. However, the continued rise in preventable deaths underscores systemic shortcomings in prison healthcare management.
The figures have sparked renewed debate over the need for urgent reforms to improve medical care, sanitation, and security within the state’s correctional institutions.
