Torture of life convict: Vellore Prison DIG, 13 officials booked
The 31-year-old convict was also forced to do household chores and was later accused of theft
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CHENNAI: The Crime Branch-CID booked 14 prison department officials, including Deputy Inspector General (Prisons), Vellore, R Rajalakshmi, after a judicial magistrate's damning report to the Madras High Court that exposed the exploitation of convicted prisoners by making them do chores at prison officials’ homes.
Apart from the DIG, her personal security officer Raju; Additional Superintendent of Prisons A Abdul Rahman; Vellore Prison Jailer Arul Kumaran; and 10 constables were booked by the CB-CID under several sections, including 127 (8) (wrongful confinement) and 146 (unlawful labour) of BNS among others.
Besides making a life convict do household chores, the prison authorities had also allegedly beaten up and tortured an inmate, S Sivakumar (31), accusing him of stealing Rs 4.5 lakh cash and other valuables from the DIG Rajalakshmi’s residence. Sivakumar was also allegedly kept in solitary confinement for over three months, sources said.
The action by the CB-CID follows a direction by a division bench of Madras High Court based on the report by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vellore, after Sivakumar's mother moved the court seeking justice. Sivakumar is a life convict in a murder case registered by Pochampalli police.
"A shock to our conscience," noted the Madras High Court while reprimanding the jail authorities for exploiting the convicted prisoners for domestic chores in their residences and directed the Director General of Prisons to initiate disciplinary actions against the erring officials.
"It is not only a case of violation of the Prison Manual, but a case of harassment/torture of the convict prisoner inside the prison. Illegal utilisation of convict prisoners in the residences of the jail authorities are also stated in the report. They have not only violated the service conditions, but indulged in the commission of offences," observed the division bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V Sivagnanam.
As per the court directions, Sivakumar has been shifted to Salem Central Prison, police sources said.