Prisoner dies after drinking santiser in Kerala

An undertrial prisoner in Kerala's Palakkad jail today died after he was under treatment, of consuming sanitizer. Meanwhile, the police have launched a probe to find out if it was a case of suicide or if he had consumed the sanitizer

Palakkad (Kerala): A remand prisoner died at the district hospital here on Thursday after allegedly drinking sanitiser which he mistook for alcohol, jail authorities said.

The deceased person has been identified as Ramankutty. He was lodged in the jail here as a remand prisoner since February 18, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning after he collapsed inside the prison.

"We suspect that he drank a bottle of sanitiser which are manufactured in the jail premises (by the prisoners) as per the instructions of the state government," a senior jail official said.

He was normal on Tuesday night and was also present for the roll call on Wednesday but collapsed at around 10.30 AM, officials said.

Prison authorities use Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) as the major content of the hand sanitiser. Police said they have registered a case and the exact cause of death would be known only after postmortem, reports added.

(PTI)