Deaths of two inmates rock Delhi prisons

New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Two deaths were reported over the past one week in Delhi's prisons, where one inmate died under mysterious circumstances in Tihar jail while another undertrial prisoner from Rohini jail died after being admitted to a hospital. The deaths not only shocked the prisoners but also the jail administration.

An ex-Indian Army officer, who was arrested on the charges of espionage, died under mysterious circumstances.

As per the information received from the jail, "the deceased was an NRI. He was arrested from Delhi cantonment area. He was accused of stealing books from the Army's library. A case was registered against him in Delhi cantonment police station. He died after falling off the jail's terrace a day after being arrested by the police." A judicial probe was launched after his mysterious death.

Meanwhile, another Rohini jail prisoner Honey Sharma was admitted to the hospital after falling sick. However, he died in hospital during treatment the next day.

Now the question arises -- 'What's wrong with the high-budget Delhi prisons that have far better facilities as compared to other jails across the country?'.

While talking to IANS, Sandeep Goel, Director General of Delhi Prisons said, "Both the cases are being investigated. The probe report is awaited."

"The Rohini jail prisoner Honey Sharma was a resident of Delhi's Mohan garden. He was facing a six-year imprisonment on robbery charges," he said.

Sharma's kin have claimed that he was injured in a blade attack by his fellow inmates.

"Honey was not suffering from any disease. Jail authorities are only trying to get rid of the situation," the deceased's family alleged.

It is said that Sharma was lodged in ward number 4 of the Rohini jail. He was working as a computer assistant inside the jail.

According to the family, Honey was perfectly fine when his brother Himanshu and two other relatives visited him on Monday. "All of a sudden, he died. How's this possible?," they questioned.

Honey fell prey to the politics inside jail. He was poisoned to death, they alleged. However, the jail administration has dismissed the allegations.

"All allegations are baseless until we receive a probe report," the jail authorities said.