CHENNAI: Taking a serious view on allegations raised in a petition that certain prison officials were threatening inmates of foisting cases on them and extracting money, the Madras High Court has ordered a top official to hold an inquiry into the allegations and submit a report within two weeks.
A division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and K Kumaresh Babu said “serious allegations” have been raised by a petitioner on behalf of her husband who is a convict prisoner at Vellore central prison.
“We feel it has to be ascertained whether the allegations (of the petitioner) are correct or not. The DIG (Prisons), Vellore, can conduct an inquiry,” the bench said in an interim order on Friday.
Granting two weeks time, the bench ordered the official to file a report by September 9, the next date of hearing. The petition filed by R Maragatham of Hosur said her husband Radhakrishnan has been serving a three-year prison term after being convicted in a robbery case along with two others. He has completed two-and-a-half years at the Vellore prison.
Assistant jailer Sundarrajan, warder Suresh, second-grade warder Sakthivel and another staff Prem Anand had demanded bribes and threatened him of foisting cases on him if he did not pay them, the petitioner said. She added that her husband was under constant threat and feared his life as the prison officials had assaulted another prisoner, K Dinesh, who attempted suicide on July 23. Maragatham sought the court to order action against the officials based on a representation she had given to the authorities concerned.