Times of India: Meerut: Friday,
11 October 2024.
A total of 53 convicted or
undertrial prisoners have died in the past five years at Meerut's Chaudhary
Charan Singh District Jail, which has a capacity to lodge 1,707 prisoners but
has 2,205 inmates as on Sep 30, according to an RTI reply. The prison is also
facing a shortage of medical staff, with a consultant position lying vacant, as
per the RTI reply, a copy of which is with TOI.
However, the RTI response did not mention the cause of the deaths. The data on deaths are from Jan 2020 to Sep 7, 2024.
The information was sought by a student leader of Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Vineet Chaprana. "Deaths of inmates in the district jail is a cause for concern. Negligence of the jail administration appears to be the primary cause, as many vacant medical posts have not been filled. Probably, due to the lack of timely medical treatment, the number of deaths is more," said Chaprana.
"The problem of overcrowding is not just in Meerut jail, other jails in western UP such as those at Dasna, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor are also overcrowded. As a result, many basic facilities are lacking and available facilities are stretched, causing numerous problems to the inmates," said Chaprana.
"We will file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding the issue of overcrowding in jails," he added.
Chaprana also cited some examples of deaths due to medical conditions. In May this year, a 66-year-old Mohd Raisuddin, convicted of culpable homicide, died of tuberculosis. In the same month, 28-year-old Riazuddin suffered a heart attack during ‘namaz' and was rushed to the jail hospital but he could not be revived. A 58-year-old undertrial in a cheating case, Om Prakash Gupta, died under suspicious circumstances after he fell inside the jail bathroom in Sep 2023.
However, the RTI response did not mention the cause of the deaths. The data on deaths are from Jan 2020 to Sep 7, 2024.
The information was sought by a student leader of Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Vineet Chaprana. "Deaths of inmates in the district jail is a cause for concern. Negligence of the jail administration appears to be the primary cause, as many vacant medical posts have not been filled. Probably, due to the lack of timely medical treatment, the number of deaths is more," said Chaprana.
"The problem of overcrowding is not just in Meerut jail, other jails in western UP such as those at Dasna, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor are also overcrowded. As a result, many basic facilities are lacking and available facilities are stretched, causing numerous problems to the inmates," said Chaprana.
"We will file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding the issue of overcrowding in jails," he added.
Chaprana also cited some examples of deaths due to medical conditions. In May this year, a 66-year-old Mohd Raisuddin, convicted of culpable homicide, died of tuberculosis. In the same month, 28-year-old Riazuddin suffered a heart attack during ‘namaz' and was rushed to the jail hospital but he could not be revived. A 58-year-old undertrial in a cheating case, Om Prakash Gupta, died under suspicious circumstances after he fell inside the jail bathroom in Sep 2023.
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