CHANDIGARH: A total of 13 cases each of deaths in police custody have been registered in Punjab and Haryana in a span of three years.While Punjab has overall registered 293 cases of custodial death, Haryana has recorded 198 and Himachal Pradesh 35. Of Punjab’s deaths, 13 were in police custody and 280 in judicial custody (prisons).
Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, Haryana registered 13 deaths in police custody and 185 in judicial custody, while Himachal Pradesh recorded five deaths in police custody and 30 inside its prisons. Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai gave this information in Parliament during the ongoing monsoon session. All states and UTs together had 348 deaths in police custody and 5,221 in jails.
Uttar Pradesh accounted for a maximum 443 deaths in judicial custody, followed by West Bengal (177) and Bihar (156).
The minister also cited the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission that every death in custody (police or judicial, natural or otherwise) must be reported to it within 24 hours. If an inquiry by the NHRC reveals negligence of public servants, the commission recommends that the central or state government starts prosecuting them. The disciplinary action must come from the state government as defined in the rules.
