It seems that the Tihar Jail administration has refused to learn from its follies. The callous attitude of the authorities towards the inmates stood exposed once again when a woman inmate committed suicide in her cell on Thursday afternoon.
Already under fire following the suicide of the December 16 Delhi gang-rape accused Ram Singh, the prison authorities may find it difficult to explain to the enquiry panel how and why the woman committed suicide.
On Thursday afternoon, a 30-year-old inmate, Reshma, was found hanging inside jail number 6.
She used her stole to hang herself from the ventilator’s grill.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Reshma had attempted to kill herself earlier also and she was under medication for depression.
Reshma was rushed to the prison hospital and then to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDUH), where she was declared brought dead.
A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident and Tihar authorities have also begun an internal probe to ascertain the causes behind Reshma’s decision to end her life. A Tihar Jail official said that Reshma was lodged in jail number 6 along with two other inmates since November 1, 2011. She was facing trial in a kidnapping case that took place in Jaitpur area two years ago.
“The incident came to light around 3 pm when the jail warden found Reshma hanging from the ventilator grill with the help of her stole.
“The warden immediately informed her seniors and the victim was rushed to DDUH where she was declared brought dead,” the official added.
There were two other inmates in her cell but at the time of the incident, they were working in the jail factory where they make flowerpots.
As there is no CCTV camera inside the women’s cell, hence nobody really knows what transpired there.
The post-mortem examination will be conducted on Friday at DDUH.
The high security prison has witnessed two suicides within four days.
This is the fourth suicide inside Tihar in the past 15 months.
The largest prison complex in South Asia, Tihar Jail, is struggling to cope with the number of prisoners lodged there.
The jail has a capacity to hold 6,250 prisoners but nearly 12,500 inmates are lodged there.
Tihar Jail authorities had recently procured 250 CCTV cameras and were planning to install them inside the cells.
What is worrying is the fact that despite so many suicide attempts, the Tihar administration treats such incidents as routine.
Jail officials said Reshma was depressed, and could not cope with mental stress.
However, they were mum when asked whether she was being treated by a psychiatrist.
The inquest in Ram Singh and Reshma’s suicides may throw some light on the reason behind their deaths, but Tihar needs to take some urgent measures to set its house in order.