HC asks Govt to submit report on jail security by June 19

Cuttack (Orissa): Hearing to a PIL, Orissa High Court has issued a notice to the State Government asking to submit a report on jail security. Earlier, Maitree Sansad, a social organisation in Cuttack filed the PIL before the HC raising the issue of recurring escapes noticed from circle jails at Choudwar, Baripada and Sambalpur and district jails in Balasore and Sundergarh. The two-judge bench of Chief Justice AK Ganguly and Justice Indrajeet Mohanty has directed the Government to submit a status report on jail security by June 19, official sources said on Wednesday. Inadequate security measures had apparently resulted in a spurt in jail escapes in recent years, a charge that was also leveled by the Comptroller and Auditor General recently. Reportedly, as many as 77 prisoners had managed to escape jails in 43 incidents since 2002, either by digging an escape route or by scaling the perimeter wall at night, or better still, over powering jail staff during in jail hospitals. Previously, the CAG team had tested 18 jails and had found that none was equipped with the basic modern security systems such as cellphone jammers, cellphone detectors, live-wire fencing or metal detector doors. Orissa has 70 jails with over 14,000 inmates at any given point of time against an accommodating capacity of 10,000. But there are just 1,383 warders, 124 head warders and 300 officers with the Orissa Prison and Correctional Services.
By our Correspondent
Last updated: 05/08/2008 01:12:35
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