GUWAHATI, Dec 13: Suspended Congress MLA from Baghbar constituency, Sherman Ali Ahmed, who was recently released on bail after serving two months in Guwahati Central Jail, alleged that the human rights of inmates, prison manual rules and provisions of the Prisons Act were being blatantly flouted by authorities in the jail.
Narrating his brief experience in jail before mediapersons on Monday, Ahmed alleged that basic facilities such as proper medical facilities, cells, toilets and adequate drinking water, etc, were lacking in the jail and that the prison inmates or under trials had to serve their terms in deplorable conditions.
“Unlike the prisons outside Assam, the Guwahati Central Jail has about 2000 inmates/under-trial prisoners but lacks a full-fledged hospital of adequate healthcare staff to take care of those who fall sick. The under-trials here have been deprived of proper legal service as well,” he said.
Ahmed further alleged that he noticed that the prison cells were crowded with more inmates than it could accommodate.
“Worse still, the jail is under-staffed and the prison inmates have to do work meant for employees. So there is an urgent need for jail reforms, an issue that has never been discussed during the past ten years of my terms in the state Assembly. In the next five years, I will do my bit to address the issue of jail reforms,” he said.
“Moreover, small-scale industries can be set up inside the jail in order to utilise the services of the prisoners which will also lead to revenue augmentation,” he said.
Ahmed, who was granted bail by the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court here for all the three cases registered in Geetanagar police station here, stepped out of jail on December 7.
The three-time legislator was arrested by the vigilance cell in connection with government funds amounting Rs 25, 08,323 that were misappropriated out of the total sanctioned amount of Rs 65 lakh.