Govt wants straight dope on addiction behind bars
Just days after an undertrial was stabbed to death, two convicts, including one serving a life sentence, died under mysterious circumstances on Thursday morning at the high-security Tihar jail. Jail officials suspect that the deceased, identified as Ritesh Mittal, alias Shalu (32) and Amit, alias Panda (26), died after consuming some drug smuggled into the prison. Both the convicts were lodged in ward number two at jail no. 8-9 of the prison complex. Ritesh was undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case and had spent 11 years in jail. Amit was convicted in an attempt to murder case.
Tihar DIG and spokesperson Mukesh Prasad told The Pioneer that fellow inmates account of the incident place both of convicts inhaling some drug in the night. In the morning, their condition deteriorated. While a doctor attended them inside the jail, however they were later rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where they died around 9.30 am.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death. Police will also investigate as to how the drugs were smuggled into the prison complex. Meanwhile, the head warder of the jail has been suspended and a judicial inquiry has been initiated into the mysterious death. Home Minister Satyendra Jain summoned the jail authorities and directed them to submit a detailed report about the incident.
A committee to be headed by G Sudhakar (Secretary to the Minister), who has previously served as DIG Prisons, will review the security arrangements inside Tihar Jail and will submit its report to Satyendra Jain within a week. Security at the high-profile Tihar jail has been a cause of concern off late as police have recently busted several extortion rackets being run from the premises in which inmates used mobile phones.
A number of inmates have also lost their lives in the recent past in fights on the jail premises. A 40-year-old undertrial, Ajay, was stabbed to death on Monday afternoon allegedly by three other inmates over personal enmity. The Minister has directed officials to expedite the completion of Mandoli Jail in East Delhi to ensure quick decongestion of Tihar Jail, which has been repeatedly cited as one of the main reasons behind the problems inside this prison.