Member NHRC visits jails of Guwahati and Shillong
Shri Sudarshan Agarwal, Member NHRC along with Shri R.C. Jain, Registrar General, NHRC visited the District Jail, Guwahati on 10 November 1999 and found that the overall conditions of the jail were pathetic and the inmates were living in conditions that were totally derogatory to their dignity and their physical and mental well-being.
As against the authorised capacity 507 prisoners, 780 inmates were lodged in the jail, 90 per cent of whom were undertrials. Toilet facilities were grossly inadequate and in deplorable condition. There were garbage piles in the jail premises and stagnant water all around it. The kitchens and food containers were unclean and the food served was unhygienic. The prisoners complained that the jail doctors were most unsympathetic and would not prescribe medicines even from the few that were available in the jail dispensary. The X-ray machines were out of order. Prisoners had scabies and other skin diseases owing to unhygienic living conditions and lack of medical care.
The Member along with the Registrar General also visited the Central Jail, Shillong on 12 November 1999. Housed in a small premise, 374 inmates against an authorised capacity of 150 inmates overcrowded this jail as well. The jail had only three lavatories and faced an acute shortage of water for drinking, bathing and washing purposes. The food served to the inmates was poor in quality and inadequate in quantity. Medicines were lacking in supply and the two blankets provided to each inmate, in the cold climate of Shillong, were totally threadbare.
What was most shocking was the presence of a girl child of about 10 – 11 years of age, who was an "undertrial prisoner". Under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, no child can be kept in a regular jail. The jail houses many undertrial prisoners, who have been languishing there from periods ranging from 1 - 9 years. Some of the prisoners had not been produced in court even once during the last 1 – 3 years. According to the jail authorities, the undertrials were not being produced in court due to lack of escort facilities.
In view of the deficiencies and the appalling conditions of these two jails, the Member has made a number of recommendations for the Commission to consider and forward to the State Government to act upon.
As against the authorised capacity 507 prisoners, 780 inmates were lodged in the jail, 90 per cent of whom were undertrials. Toilet facilities were grossly inadequate and in deplorable condition. There were garbage piles in the jail premises and stagnant water all around it. The kitchens and food containers were unclean and the food served was unhygienic. The prisoners complained that the jail doctors were most unsympathetic and would not prescribe medicines even from the few that were available in the jail dispensary. The X-ray machines were out of order. Prisoners had scabies and other skin diseases owing to unhygienic living conditions and lack of medical care.
The Member along with the Registrar General also visited the Central Jail, Shillong on 12 November 1999. Housed in a small premise, 374 inmates against an authorised capacity of 150 inmates overcrowded this jail as well. The jail had only three lavatories and faced an acute shortage of water for drinking, bathing and washing purposes. The food served to the inmates was poor in quality and inadequate in quantity. Medicines were lacking in supply and the two blankets provided to each inmate, in the cold climate of Shillong, were totally threadbare.
What was most shocking was the presence of a girl child of about 10 – 11 years of age, who was an "undertrial prisoner". Under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, no child can be kept in a regular jail. The jail houses many undertrial prisoners, who have been languishing there from periods ranging from 1 - 9 years. Some of the prisoners had not been produced in court even once during the last 1 – 3 years. According to the jail authorities, the undertrials were not being produced in court due to lack of escort facilities.
In view of the deficiencies and the appalling conditions of these two jails, the Member has made a number of recommendations for the Commission to consider and forward to the State Government to act upon.