New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission on Monday said that it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Inspector General of Prisons, Madhya Pradesh after taking suo moto cognisance of the matter of a hunger strike inside the Central Jail in Bhopal.
Six members of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had begun a hunger strike inside the Central Jail, Bhopal a week ago and now they have been shifted to the jail hospital, NHRC said.
The prisoners who were found guilty of sedition, collecting arms and waging war against the government were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 and 2018 by different courts including the NIA and CBI Special Courts, the statement said.
The NHRC has called for a detailed report in the matter including the present health status of all the SIMI prisoners and their medical treatment records within four weeks.
Apart from the above, the commission said that it has also taken cognisance of the recent development with regard to the grievance of the prisoners and their health conditions.
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The prisoners have the right to food and dignity which are the basic human rights and the State, being their lawful custodian, cannot deny it to the inmates in its lawful custody, the rights panel said.
"A news report has revealed that all of them are demanding better food, exemption from regular frisking and freedom from high security block. The Jail Superintendent, as mentioned in the news report, has stated that these prisoners are not allowed to come out of the special cell as they shout anti-national slogans and also disrespect the Constitution of India," the NHRC statement said.
In its statement, the NHRC also mentioned that there has been significant increase in the number of coronavirus cases among inmates lodged in jails across the country.
"It is necessary that the prisoners are provided proper food so that their immunity level remains satisfactory which is also necessary as per guidelines issued by the WHO and ICMR," the statement said.
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