A 41-year-old undertrial inmate in the Chandpur district jail has died after she complained of having breathing difficulty, police said on Friday.

Umme Hasina, who had also been down with fever for the past few days, was rushed to District Sadar Hospital after her condition worsened on Thursday noon. Both fever and breathing problems are symptoms of Covid.

Resident doctor of the hospital Sujauddula Rubel said the female inmate was brought to the hospital around 1.30 pm in a critical condition. "She breathed her last in the emergency department during treatment." 

Hasina had been lodged in the district jail for the past 14 months after being arrested in connection with two cases filed against her, police said.

Officer-in-Charge of Sadar model police station said that a case of unnatural death has been filed and the inmate's body was handed over to her family members.

According to the district jailor’s office, some 741 inmates -- convicts and undertrials -- are currently lodged in the Chandpur district jail. Of them, 26 are women inmates.

Despite an alarming surge of Covid-19 cases in the district in recent months, the inmates of the jail hardly underwent any health check-ups, said sources.