By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 21: A staggering 44 custodial deaths in a span of 10 years, many in suspicious circumstances and glossed over by the state government, came under sharp focus of the Meghalaya High Court on Monday.
As the matter figured in the Court, Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee took into account each victim’s post mortem reports and the medical reasons leading to their death.
The official records revealed that nearly half of these deaths were due to “unnatural” reasons. Many died by suicide by hanging in the prison, while some bore marks of external injuries.
These cases, which have for long remained buried in the government files, also revealed that many of the jail birds, whether convicts or under trial prisoners, apparently died for want of timely medical intervention or simple indifference of prison keepers.
The official records, as revealed in the court, have recorded deaths due to heart attack, cerebral attack, cancer and common chronic ailments. The surmise is that apathy and indifference of prisons and lockups in different parts of Meghalaya might have hastened their end.
The Chief Justice took a dim view of the grim matter and dictated an order to the effect that the next of kin of these victims be awarded a cash compensation of Rs 15 lakh in place of Rs 7.5 lakh being proposed to be paid by the state government.
Using some terse words, Chief Justice Banerjee said, “The state government should bleed every time a citizen dies an unnatural death in custody.”
He made no bones about his underlying thoughts that paying such big compensation should prove to be a deterrent against rising custodial deaths.
Not stopping at that, the court further ordered that the parents and guardians of the victims be asked to personally appear on next Monday for making a personal submission.
The court noted that many of the victims were able bodied between 25 and 35 years of age. The Chief Justice ordered that the quantum of ex-gratia for these youth be at least Rs 15 lakh and for those older be entitled to lower amount but not less than Rs 10 lakh.
The government has been directed to issue advertisement in local newspapers notifying the parents about their presence.