BENGALURU: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Karnataka prisons department for the alleged negligence of prison officials in the alleged suicide case of Jai Shankar, a convict in three rape and murder cases.
According to NHRC, a suo motu case has been taken up following media reports that Jai Shankar, the 38-year-old convict, committed suicide inside the Bengaluru Central Prison by slitting his throat with a shaving blade on February 27.
He was accused in 15 cases of rape and murder, out of which he had been convicted in three cases. He was confined to an isolated cell, as he was a threat to the other inmates.
The statement of NHRC said, “It has been observed that the contents of the news report, if true, amount to the negligence on the part of the jail officials. The Commission has also noted that the state authorities have not informed it within 24 hours of the death in judicial custody, as per its guidelines.
“Therefore, it has also sought an explanation from the IG (Prisons), Karnataka for not adhering to this guideline. The Commission has issued a notice to the IG (Prisons), Karnataka calling for a detailed report in the matter within six weeks,” the statement added.
The commission says, “Reportedly, the inquiries have revealed that the deceased was also being treated for depression. He was arrested by the police after a massive manhunt in 2009 when he brutally raped and murdered a police constable in Tamil Nadu. He had also escaped from the judicial custody in the year 2013 by scaling the jail boundary wall, but he was again arrested by the police. Since then, he was being kept in a separate cell.”