Misbehaviour of lady inmate by jail staff: NHRC notice to Odisha CS

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, July 5:

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a show cause notice to the Odisha Chief Secretary asking him to reply within six weeks as to why no compensation would be paid to inmate Hastina Singh, who was misbehaved with by a warder in the district jail at Bhawanipatana.

Acting on a complaint of human rights activist Subash Mohapatra, the Commission has directed the chief secretary to reply as to why appropriate compensation should not be not recommended to be paid to the victim female convict for violation of her human rights by a public servant while she was in custody.

According to the complaint, jail warder Rama Chandra Sethy allegedly misbehaved with the woman inmate of the jail on 2 November 2013.

Additional Director General of Police-cum Inspector General of Prisons & Correctional Services conducted an inquiry into the matter following the direction of the Commission.

The report stated that Hastina Singh hds complained that Sethy, Warder of the Jai, hadl misbehaved with her. The matter was duly inquired into by DIG, Prisons Berhampur, Chief Probation Officer of the Prisons’ Directorate and by the DIG, Prisons, Sambalpur Range, Sambalpur.

During the inquiry, even after lot of persuasion, the complainant female convict Hastina Singh refused to give any written statement and only stated that the matter has already been compromised, the report said. However, the Warder has already been placed under suspension and departmental proceeding has been initiated against him, it added.