Bhubaneswar: One hundred and seventy-eight deaths have occurred in Odisha prisons in the last three years, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi disclosed in a written reply during the ongoing Assembly session on Monday. All these deaths have been thoroughly investigated by the divisional magistrate, as per established protocols, he added.
The Chief Minister's response came in reply to a question raised by BJP MLA Bhaskar Madhei on prison management in the state. Madhei sought answers regarding the reasons for delays in revising the jail manual, guidelines on prisoner interactions with families, and specific rules regarding prison security, including the controversial use of glass rooms during family visits. Madhei referred to the alleged inhumane practice of glass-enclosed family visits for prisoners, the presence of unauthorized cell phones inside prisons and the delay in implementing prison reforms .
These could have a negative impact on the mental health of the under trial prisoners and those serving their term post conviction, he further added.
The overall prison capacity in Odisha is 23,526, while the current prisoners' population stands at 17,185 (October 31, 2024). The prisoner deaths during the last five years as recorded are:
2019 - 53
2020 - 78
2021 - 61
2022 - 72
2023 - 57
2024 - 49
Total - 370
In his response, Majhi detailed on the updated Odisha Prison Manual since September 29, 2020. "This new manual replaced the older version and has been introduced across all state prisons to improve management and streamline operations," he stated. The CM also mentioned the steps taken to improve the condition of prisoners and reintegration into society after release. Among those are the education initiatives under which the examination centers have been set up in prisons to provide inmates with access to higher education through various central and state-level open universities.
To enhance security measures in the prisons, CCTV cameras have been installed in 85 prisons across the state since 2008. However, facilities like Biju Patnaik Muktakash Ashram (Jamujhari) and Naribandi Niketan (Sambalpur) are yet to be equipped with such surveillance systems.
The Jail Statistics
According to reports accessed by ETV Bharat, there are 87 jails in the state where staff strength is only 30% of the required levels. As a result, a proposal has been put forward to merge some of these jails. Out of 1,856 warder positions, 466 are vacant. Similarly, 166 of the 266 chief head warder positions are unfilled. In most district and circle jails, which fall under the supervision of a superintendent, 16 out of 27 posts are vacant. This means that only 11 superintendents are currently on duty.
According to regulations, 25 jails with only 20 to 25 prisoners each should be merged with nearby jails. Most of these jails are staffed with only seven personnel each, making it an overwhelming challenge for any official to manage three shifts. Although plans are in place to merge these jails, no action has been taken yet. For example, Narsinghpur jail has 23 prisoners, Nilagiri has 24, Ranpur has 22, Pallahda has 12, and Hindol has 11 prisoners.
Regarding the health conditions of inmates, some jails have hospital facilities or doctors on staff, and state-of-the-art medical equipment has been installed in certain prisons. All major jails have been provided with ambulances for urgent health emergencies and shifting of patients to district headquarters hospitals. During the current financial year, government approved 30 ambulances for major prisons over and above the 15 existing ambulances to cater to any health emergency, informed DG of Prisons and Correctional Services Arun Kumar Ray.
In order to maintain the basic health care of the inmates, there are 35 sanctioned posts of regular doctors from the OMHS cadre, four regular posts of Psychiatric Specialists and 55 contractual doctors. The regular doctors and psychiatric specialists are being posted to the jails by the Health & Family Welfare Department. Contractual doctors are also being engaged by the Prisons Directorate by the selection committee constituted. At present, 90 pharmacists have been engaged in different jails to look after the health care of the inmates. Additionally 21 Male Nursing Orderlies and 20 Female Nursing Orderlies have been engaged on outsourcing basis to manage the health care system of inmates. Besides in major Jails, the Medical Officers of Sub-Divisional and District Headquarters Hospital pay weekly visit to the jails for specialized health check up of the inmate, informed Ray.
On the other hand, retired DG of Prisons, Bankim Chandra Mohanty, says, the prisoners mostly die in the prisons due to diseases, heart attacks, stress-induced complications. Very few of these are suicide cases. "All the deaths are informed to the NHRC and OHRC within 24 hours of the incident. A judicial inquiry is also conducted. So there is no amount of negligence involved because there are medical practitioners and attendants who take care of the sick inmates," he said.
He feels the number is not that alarming as the average death per year is close to 60. "What is concerning is the death of addicts of substance abuse. They do not get their dose of narcotics and go into depression. We have de-addiction centres in the jails but at times, the inmates are unable to deal with the sudden withdrawal," adds Mohanty.
It may be noted that on January 28, 2022, in response to a directive from the High Court, the state government had established a Jail Board, or Prison Board, under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to manage the jails. The DG, along with the secretaries of the Home, Finance, and Law departments, as well as representatives from 10 other departments, are part of the board, which aims to improve jail infrastructure. The board convenes twice a year to review proposals and assess their implementation, Ray added.
Read More
