NHRC asks Delhi Govt to pay compensation for prisoner's death

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today asked Delhi government to pay a compensation of Rs 3 lakh to the family of a Tihar jail prisoner who died in custody.
The rights panel set aside the explanation given by DG (Prisons) and recommended that the government pay a sum of Rs 3 lakh as relief to the next of kin of the undertrial prisoner, Sanjay, an NHRC statement said.
The Commission has also asked the Chief Secretary to submit a compliance report in this connection by August 15.
The NHRC took up the matter after it received an intimation from the Jail Superintendent on April 22, 2007, about Sanjay's death in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here while undergoing medical treatment.

Sanjay was lodged in the jail on March 13, 2007 in a case of NDPS Act registered at Seelampur police station.
The Commission issued several notices, reminders and even conditional summons to the authorities concerned to get all the relevant reports, including inquest, post-mortem, viscera, final cause of death report and magisterial inquiry report, which were not forthcoming, the statement said.

Subsequently, on receipt of the reports, the Commission got them analysed by a medical specialist who opined that the progression of disease pointed towards withdrawal syndrome and its related complications.
"In order to completely detoxify his body, the undertrial prisoner should have been treated for de-addiction for a longer period and monitored accordingly.

"He concluded that there was negligence on part of the Jail administration for not providing the prisoner timely treatment, regular follow-up and the delay in referral," the NHRC statement said.
The Commission has observed that these lapses led to the death of a person in the custody.