TN prison chief says 133 inmates died in 20 years, activist blames negligence of staff

TIRUNELVELI: In an RTI reply to a city-based activist, the Superintendent of Central Prison, Palayamkottai, said that 133 inmates died of various reasons in the prison from 2000 to 2020.

Activist Bramma said he received the information after eight months of struggle as the prison administration refused to provide it to him until he approached the appellate authority under the RTI Act. Of the 133 deceased inmates, about 45 people died of cardiac disease including heart attack and chest pain, 13 died of tuberculosis (TB), seven died of AIDS, six died of cancer and one died of Covid-19. Eight people committed suicide in different ways like consuming paint thinner and jumping from the overhead tank. Other reasons for the deaths of inmates include mental disorder, asthma, diarrhea, fever, secondary cervical nodes, jaundice and liver infections, abdominal pain, diabetes, sudden unconsciousness, seizure disorder, septicemia and fits.

In 2006 alone, 14 inmates died -- the maximum number of deaths in any year. “After being informed by my sources inside the prison that human rights are being violated, I obtained the information on the deaths of inmates. Many of the deceased persons would have been saved if the prison administration performed its duty correctly. Neither the duty doctor nor the superintendent visits the prison regularly to check the condition of inmates. The inmates who question and report about the irregularities inside the prison are tortured by the jail warder. The injured prisoners are not given treatment on time which, sometimes, resulted in deaths or suicide,” claimed Bramma.

He attributed TB and other pulmonology related deaths to the uninterrupted supply of beedis in the prison. “Even a single beedi cannot be brought inside the jail without the support of the prison staff. In an apology letter written to the Superintendent, an inmate said that he was shifted from one cell to another as he stole beedis of his fellow inmates and promised that he will not do so in future. He is illiterate and has put his thumb impression under the apology letter. A prison staffer has drafted this letter for him. This clearly shows uninterrupted supply of beedis inside the prison,” he alleged, sharing the letter with The New Indian Express.

Shankar, Superintendent of Central Prison, Palayamkottai, was not available for comment on the phone. A senior officer of the Tamil Nadu Prison Department told The New Indian Express that he needs to study the deaths of all 133 inmates before giving his version to the media. However, he added, “One cannot simply blame the prison administration for the death of inmates. Some people are at their fourth stage of cancer when they enter the prison. How can we blame the prison staff for the death of such people?” he asked.