Hyderabad: According to senior officials of jail department, thanks to several initiatives, including quick medical relief to prisoners and total ban on smoking, the number of deaths across various prisons in Telangana has come down by more than half in the last few years.
Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, V. K. Singh, told that there were a total of 53 deaths in 2013, 56 in 2014, 32 in 2015 and only 19 in 2016, so far. Only 3 suicides cases took place during the last 3 years.
Now, every new prisoner has to go through health check-up on daily basis. Earlier getting funds to treat prisoners was an issue but now due to the petrol pumps started by jail authorities, the department earned Rs. 3 crore this year.
Also the complete smoking ban in prisons put in place a year-and-a-half ago has also
helped in reduction in deaths of prisoners.
Siasat news