Uzbek woman falls ill in jail, dies in hospital

GURUGRAM: A 38-year-old Uzbek woman lodged in Bhondsi jail died after falling ill under mysterious circumstances on Friday. According to sources, when Shoknes complained of chest pain in the early hours on Friday, the prison authorities rushed her to the prison hospital which in turn referred her to Civil hospital where she succumbed to her illness.

An autopsy conducted on Friday revealed that the cause of death was constant drug abuse. Sources said she was also suffering from epilepsy also. A magisterial probe has been ordered into her death, while police are waiting for her relatives, and have kept her body in the morgue.

“There was no injury on her body but possibility of constant drug abuse and a concrete illness cannot be ruled out. The jail authorities told us that she was suffering from epilepsy. It appears that she might have suffered an epileptic attack owing to withdrawal symptoms. Her samples have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for further investigation,” Dr Deepak Mathur, a forensic expert who conducted the postmortem at Civil hospital, said. Shoknes was sent to jail after she was arrested with another Uzbek woman in a June 10 raid from a local club for allegedly violating the Foreigners’ Act and failing to produce her passport and visa details.

An FIR was registered against the duo under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and sections 3 and 14 of the Foreigners Act. They were later produced in a city court which sent them to judicial custody. Shoknes, along with her friend, was lodged in women’s ward 1/A class-C of Bhondsi jail. The next date of hearing is on June 22 in the court of judicial magistrate first class.

Source said Shoknes started feeling uneasiness after suffering chest pain around 3.06am on Friday. She immediately revealed it to her barrack mate who then called up warden and rushed her to the jail hospital, which referred her to Civil hospital where she succumbed her to illness. “We reacted immediately when she told about her uneasiness and rushed her to the hospital. We are speaking to staff and her barrack mate and other inmates to find out what led to her death,” said Jai Kishan Chillar, superintendent of Bhondsi jail.

When contacted, SHO of Bhondsi police station Umesh Kumar said no family members had contacted police so far. Cops said while the duo had claimed that they came to India on tourist visa a few months ago and had been living in Delhi since then.