Madras HC asks govt doctors to examine Bilal Malik and others who were allegedly beaten up by jail staff

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) to carry out medical examinations of three Puzhal prison inmates who were allegedly assaulted by the prison officials and also sought a report in this regard.

A vacation bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V Lakshminarayanan, on Friday, directed the Puzhal prison authorities to file a counter to the petitions moved by three prisoners Bilal Malik, Panna Ismail, and Yokesh, who allegedly suffered at the hands of officers.

The bench also directed the authorities to take the petitioners to RGGGH for medical examination and posted the matter to January 21 for further submission.

Advocate P Pugalenthi appearing for the petitioners submitted that the prison officials including jailers had beaten Bilal Malik and Panna Ismail, confined in a sensitive block, and another prisoner Yogesh, black and blue for allegedly using mobile phones. Later, the officials handcuffed them and locked them in the block after stripping them. They were left there without any medical assistance.

Further, the prison officials denied permission to Bilal Malik's mother Mumtaj to meet him after she came to know that her son was assaulted, he said. In some prison blocks ganja was seized by the prison officials, submitted the advocate.

After the submission, the bench questioned the additional public prosecutor E Raj Tilak about the repeated complaints about the availability of prohibited items in the prison despite several court orders.

The bench wondered why high-security facilities including cameras and uniformed personnel failed to deter the transfer of prohibited items into the jail. It also directed the director general of prisons and superintendent of Puzhal prison to explain how these items including cell phones and ganja were permitted inside the prison.

The additional public prosecutor contended that a team of prison officials including the jailer, on January 10, conducted a surprise inspection during which they found a cell phone in the sensitive block where the petitioners were lodged. As the prisoners attacked the officials during an inquiry about the cell phone, the officials in retaliation attacked the prisoners, he said.

After the submission, the bench directed the dean of RGGGH to constitute a team of doctors to examine the prisoners and provide treatment if needed.