A memorandum submitted by the PUCL delegation said that many complaints regarding SIMI prisoners have already been sent to senior officials and the National Human Rights Commission.
Pervez Bari | Clarion India
BHOPAL – A People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) delegation has met Sanjay Pandey, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (Establishment) Madhya Pradesh, apprising him of the reported hunger strike by some of the prisoners in Bhopal Central Jail for want of proper facilities being provided to them as per the jail manual.
Pandey assured the delegation, led by Ms Madhuri Subramaniam, that he would discuss the issue with the Director General of Prisons & Correctional Services, Madhya Pradesh and do the needful to resolve the matter.
Syed Javed Akhtar, Mohammad Ansar and Masood Ahmad Khan were also part of the PUCL delegation.
It may be mentioned here that a local newspaper reported that four activists of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) are on a hunger strike in Bhopal central jail to press for their demands.
In all, 28 SIMI activists are lodged in the Bhopal jail. They are facing several charges of not following rules as per the jail manual; neither do they stand up when the National Anthem is played or sung. According to jail authorities, four activists are on hunger strike from January 13. The activists only take lentil soup and not the full meal.
The jail doctor is monitoring the health of the activists. The activists are mounting pressure on the jail administration to allow them to move in the jail premises. They also demand that they be allowed to meet other prisoners.
They are kept in the high-security area of the jail known as “Anda” (egg) cell. They said they should not be checked every day and the investigators should not touch their books. They have also demanded a separate newspaper and magazine to read among other facilities. They should be allowed to join mass Namaz (prayer). They have refused to wear jail dresses and insist on wearing skull caps, the report said.
Meanwhile, the memorandum submitted by the PUCL delegation said that many complaints regarding SIMI prisoners have already been sent to senior officials and the National Human Rights Commission which had also found in its investigation that they were being tortured, and had given several recommendations in this regard. But, concrete corrective actions have not been taken.
The memorandum stated that four prisoners are being kept in illegal solitary confinement in the jail.
The prisoners kept in the “Anda” cell are being tortured the most in this case. According to the rules, outside the stipulated time of lock up, the prisoners are allowed to come out in the courtyard to take sun baths and inhale fresh air, for a leisurely walk, perform some exercises, and talk to other prisoners. However, these prisoners are being deprived of these facilities, ostensibly because of security concerns. But there are adequate security arrangements for these cells and adequate watch towers are also in place for the purpose. Hence there is no reason why these prisoners should not be given the same facilities as per the rules available to other prisoners.
The memorandum pointed out that jail officials have been informed many times orally and in writing also that the image of the government and the administration was tarnished due to the “jailbreak” in 2016 by the prisoners of SIMI-related issues. It is worth mentioning that all the prisoners involved in that incident were killed in an encounter on the same day. Torturing those who were not involved in the incident just to take revenge is not only illegal but also indecent and unfair in every respect.
Two activists on hunger strike, Shibli and Qamaruddin, have been awarded death sentences. The two others, Abu Faisal and Kamran, are serving life imprisonment.
SIMI activists also went on a hunger strike in Bhopal jail in November 2020. Then they were demanding facilities like being extended in the Ahmedabad jail. There they had the facility to live in the open and meet each other. They were asking for chicken and mutton along with dry fruits, milk, and nutritious food. However, the jail administration had rejected their demand.
