A Prisons Department inquiry into the custodial death of remand prisoner Rajkumar, 49, is reported to be veering towards the view that wardens at the Peerumade sub-jail had repeatedly disregarded the acute physical distress of the inmate.
Officials privy to the ongoing probe headed by Director General of Prisons Rishiraj Singh said investigators have learned that fellow prisoners had informed wardens that Rajkumar was hyperventilating, weak and feverish, but to no avail.
The police had admitted Rajkumar in a debilitated state to the sub-jail at 1.20 a.m. on June 16.
Fellow prisoners and wardens had told investigators that Rajkumar could barely walk then and required assistance to eat, drink and use the toilet.
The focus is on finding out why the prison authorities had not factored in Rajkumar’s apparent medical condition at the time of his admission.
Jail officials have reportedly told the investigators that they admitted him after the police stated that the local magistrate had found Rajkumar fit to be incarcerated. (The High Court is examining the magistrate's decision).
Investigators also found that the prison authorities had shunted Rajkumar to and fro between hospitals in Peerumade and Kottayam. The long bumpy journeys in the prison ambulance had worsened his condition.
Doctors at the hospital had told the investigators that they found that Rajkumar suffered from sepsis, pneumonia, renal dysfunction and respiratory distress when the prison authorities brought him in on June 21. He died an hour later at 10.20 a.m.
Surveillance cameras
The investigators verified surveillance cameras inside the prison and recorded the accounts of other inmates who had witnessed Rajkumar's plight in the jail.
A senior police officer said there appeared to be overwhelming evidence that Rajkumar had not received the judicially mandated standard of care inmates are entitled to in correctional facilities.
He said the ongoing investigation could result in the filing of criminal charges and possible arrest of culpable jail officials.