Five inmates of Silchar Central Jail in South Assam have been found to be HIV positive.
Two convicts and three under-trial prisoners have tested positive for HIV, said Jail Superintendent Satyendra Baisya said.
He said that other inmates are going through mandatory testing for the deadly virus.
Earlier this month, 88 under-trial prisoners tested HIV positive in Nagaon district of Assam, following which the state government ordered the authorities of other jails to conduct mass testing.
Baisya said that of the two convicts, who tested HIV positive at Silchar Central Jail, one was a Manipur resident and the other was a truck driver.
“Truck drivers don’t take protective measures. The truck driver who was lodged here was positive. The other convict who later also tested positive, and who hails from Manipur, told us that he made unsafe contact with the truck driver,” HT quoted Baisya as saying.
Of the three under-trial prisoners, the jail’s superintendent said they were drug addicts who used to share syringes with each other.
Baisya said two of the three under-trial prisoners have been sent to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH).