SHILLONG: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked Shillong jail authorities to address the issue of overcrowding within eight weeks.
The direction to the State Inspector General of Prisons was following the complaint of Anil Pradhan, Special Rapporteur for NHRC in Shillong.
Pradhan in his complaint cited the news report that appeared in The Shillong Times on April 28 this year that said the prison is overcrowded with as many as 408 inmates though the capacity of the jail is only 150.
According to Pradhan, he had also mentioned in his report compiled in 2014 that the inhuman living conditions of the inmates, “owing to the massive over-crowding in this jail, are a cause for serious concern and a gross human rights violation”. In response, in the letter addressed to the Inspector General of Prisons, NHRC said, “The complaint (should) be transmitted to the authority concerned for such action as deemed appropriate. The authority concerned is directed to take appropriate action within eight weeks and inform the complainant of the action taken in the matter.”
Earlier it was reported that the main reason for overcrowding was due to the large number of cases under the POCSO and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Acts.
