At least 44 inmates at a jail in Kashmir, most of them political prisoners, have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday.
An official said that after a pro-freedom activist was diagnosed with the virus a couple of days ago, all prisoners at Anantnag District Jail were tested for infection, reports said.
“Yesterday, four tested positive. Today’s results showed 44 others positive,” the official said.
A government spokesman later said on Twitter that 290 people had tested positive in the Kashmir Valley on Wednesday.
Their identities were not revealed for fear of stigma. Among those who tested positive at Anantnag District Jail were a preacher and OGWs.
The Indian Home Ministry says that more than 7,300 Kashmiris were picked up—most of them during the abrogation of special status of Jammu Kashmir in August last year.
Hundreds of Kashmiri are still lodged in jails in Kashmir , Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana.