One prisoner in Tamil Nadu jails dies every four days
15 Dec, 2013
An application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the details of the prisoners who have died in the jails of Tamil Nadu since 2000. The reply to the application shows that between 2000 and 2012, a total of 1,086 inmates of various jails died in the state i.e. one prisoner in Tamil Nadu dies every four days.
The data provided in the reply shows that the number of deaths in the four consecutive years since 2003 was more than 100 and the lowest number of death since 2000 was recoded at 62 in 2012. The reply stated that in 2013, nine prisoners had died till February.
In this regard, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed stating that the deaths in the prisons are ignored and no one is held responsible for them. The PIL blamed the high incidence of deaths inside jails on poor medical facilities and pointed out that no judicial inquiry is held to hold officials accountable. The PIL has demanded that adequate medical facilities be provided to the inmates and has vouched for an interim compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to the families of the dead prisoners along with a judicial inquiry by a district judge into every death.
The High Court bench has issued notice to the state government in this regard.