The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over the reported death of three prisoners in two days in the jails of Varanasi.
The Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and has issued notices to the State Director General, Prisons, and the Varanasi Police Commissioner calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks time, an official press release of the Commission said on Thursday.
The report is expected to include the inquest and post-mortem examination reports, along with initial health screening reports of all three prisoners, as well as the magisterial inquiry reports.
According to a media report, three prisoners died in custody in Varanasi, one after the other on June 15 and 16. Reportedly, a male doctor and a female prisoner lodged in the District Jail died due to illness, whereas another lodged in the Central Jail of Varanasi died due to heart attack.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it has issued notices to the Director General, Prisons and the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
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