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Rights panel hits out at condition in jails

Staff Reporter

Says it is not conducive to reforming prisoners

KANNUR: State Human Rights Commission member V.P. Mohankumar has said that the conditions in jails in the State are not conducive to reforming prisoners.

He was delivering the keynote address on `Jails and human rights' at the zonal conference of the Jail Subordinate Officers' Association here on Saturday.

Rather than reforming the prisoners, the conditions in the jails would only make them hardened criminals, said Mr. Mohankumar. Lawbreakers were sent to the jails for their mental transformation and reform, but the situation in the prisons was not conducive to such a change, he added.

The Central Jail here, for instance, had the capacity to accommodate 600 prisoners, but at present had twice that number. Shortage of jail personnel to escort the prisoners was also delaying the proceedings for presenting the prisoners in time. The prisoners were likely to get more depressed and become hardened criminals, he said.

Another major problem in the jails was the shortage of permanent warders. Most of the warders in the jails were appointed through the employment exchange. These temporary warders, who were on the lookout for permanent jobs, would be least interested in improving the mental state of the jail inmates. The authorities should address these issues, he said.

Human rights referred to the rights of the humanity. Prisoners too had human rights, he said, urging the jail employees to report any human rights violations of prisoners.

Earlier, inaugurating the conference, Central Jail advisory body member P. Jayarajan, MLA, said that `nadayadi' (a type of torture) was still continuing in some jails. He said the Human Rights Commission should suo motu take up complaints of human rights violations without waiting for the police to register cases.

Association State president C.K. Baburaj presided.

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