31-year-old undertrial dies in Odisha jail as family demands probe

Runa Badarait, a 31-year-old undertrial prisoner accused in a case under India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, died at a sub-jail in Odisha’s Gajapati district. His family has demanded a high-level investigation into what they called an unexplained and unnatural death.

Paralakhemundi jail superintendent Kamakshi Prasad Pati said Runa complained of chest pain at about 8 p.m. on Saturday. A prison pharmacist examined him and gave him medicine, after which he appeared to improve. His condition worsened around 12:30 a.m., and he was taken to the Paralakhemundi District Headquarters Hospital, where a doctor declared him dead.

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My husband was healthy. He had never suffered from any illness. He spoke to me over the phone from the jail yesterday afternoon. Even then, he did not speak of any health problem.

Runa’s wife, Jayamani Badarait, said he had been healthy and had spoken to her by phone that afternoon without mentioning any medical problem. A relative, Tuna Badarait, said the family saw foam coming from Runa’s mouth when they reached the hospital.

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We demand a high-level investigation into the incident.

Police said the medical report differed from the jail authorities’ account. Inspector Prashant Bhupati said the report recorded that Runa was already dead when he arrived at the hospital. An inquest was conducted in the presence of an executive magistrate, and police registered a case of unnatural death. The investigation is under way.

The death has drawn attention to wider prison conditions in Odisha. Government data shows that at least 370 prisoners died in the state’s prisons between 2019 and 2024, while five prisoners have died this year. A Comptroller and Auditor General audit found serious overcrowding and weaknesses in infrastructure and healthcare across the state’s 87 jails. Average sleeping space for inmates was as low as 1.91 square metres, compared with the 3.71 square metres required under the Odisha Model Jail Manual.

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Therefore, an inquest was conducted in the presence of an executive magistrate, and a case of unnatural death has been registered. The investigation is underway.