Another Death at Melrose Prison Mauritius Raises Urgent Questions Over Drugs, Corruption and Prisoner Safety

Foreign Prisoners Network Mauritius is calling for an immediate, transparent and independent investigation following the death of 43-year-old Avinash Ramgotee.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, August 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- His death comes against an already deeply troubling background. In June 2026, a government-appointed Board of Inquiry into conditions at Melrose identified serious systemic failures, including drug trafficking, alleged corruption, staff shortages, indiscipline and weaknesses in supervision and medical procedures.

Foreign Prisoners Network has also received information directly from inmates inside

Melrose alleging that Ramgotee had accumulated significant debts connected to drugs circulating within the prison. These allegations have not yet been independently verified and must therefore form part of a proper investigation.

Previous testimony before official inquiries has already raised allegations that prohibited drugs, mobile phones and other contraband enter Melrose with the assistance of corrupt prison personnel.

Foreign Prisoners Network therefore calls for: full disclosure of the autopsy findings; preservation and independent review of CCTV footage; investigation of Ramgotee’s movements, contacts and financial transactions before his death; investigation into drug distribution and debt collection inside Melrose; protection of prisoners willing to provide evidence.

Another death cannot simply be recorded as another prison suicide without examining the environment in which it occurred.
Foreign Prisoners Network calls on the Mauritian authorities, the Human Rights Commission and independent media to establish what happened, and whether criminal activity inside the prison contributed to this death.