The Hindu : Karnataka News : North Indians can’t digest jail food

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Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

North Indians can’t digest jail food

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: A group of North Indian prisoners, most of them undertrials lodged in the Central Jail in Bangalore, have approached the High Court and demanded that they be served North Indian food. They claimed that South Indian meals had made them weak.

The prisoners also demanded that they be shifted from their present cells and segregated from the local prisoners as they were not able to converse with them. They alleged that the lack of communication between them and local prisoners was causing friction.

Poor hygiene

Taking exception to the poor hygiene in the jail, they said the State is bound under the law to provide adequate facilities. Apart from poor amenities, they said they were being humiliated by being handcuffed whenever they are produced before court. The petitioners, Shamoon Ahmed and Syed Abdul Asim of Okhla, Delhi; Rajesh Salecha and Rameshwar Palhidar of Jalwar, Rajasthan; Devandra Soni of Indore; and Deepak Porwal of Mandasaur from Madhya Pradesh; urged the court to direct the authorities to provide good food, clean water and other basic amenities. They said there are nearly 50 North Indians in the Central Jail in Bangalore. The food, they claimed, is prepared under unhygienic conditions.

They said they could not order meals from the canteen as it had been closed from July 2, 2007. As many as 100 prisoners are packed into cells and there is no proper toilet in jail. They wanted the jail authorities to either permit them to receive North Indian food or allow them to cook their food. Justice K.L. Manjunath said the prayer of the petitioners is in the nature of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition and referred it to the Chief Justice.

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