Patna,
Jan 18
An under-trial prisoner in Bihar has alleged that jail authorities
scalded him with burning cigarette butts and chopped off his penis
as punishment for refusing to pay them extortion money.
Arun Lal Das, lodged in Purnea jail for murder, has in a statement
before the district and Sessions Judge Abdur Rahman said that the
jail superintendent and jail constable tortured him physically and
also cut off his penis. He says he was also mentally tortured to
commit suicide.
The revelations came to light only after the court intervention
following a complaint filed by Arun's father in the district civil
court that his son was being tortured and jail authorities were not
allowing him to meet Arun. His father in his complaint also sought
the court's direction to produce Arun in the court to know the
facts.
Arun, in his early 30s, told the court, where he was produced
Tuesday, in a choked voice: "I was regularly beaten. They injured my
entire body with cigarette butts and chopped off by penis."
The court then ordered that a medical team examine Arun and submit a
report Wednesday. He was admitted to the Sadar Hospital following
the court order to the district administration that his medical
treatment be arranged immediately.
Purnea District Magistrate A.K. Choudhary has also ordered the
setting up of a team to probe the torture. "I met Arun and found
several injuries of cigarette butts on his body and cut marks on his
private parts during my visit to inquire into his allegations on
Wednesday," Choudhary said.
Arun's statement was recorded Wednesday before Choudhary and the
district police chief.
Earlier, jail officials as well as the district administration had
denied that Arun had been tortured.
Arun, who has been in the jail for over a year in connection with
the murder of a jailor, also alleged that he was not served food for
days. His lawyer P.C. Parag told IANS over telephone that Arun had
been tortured very badly.
This case of horrific torture is not an isolated one in the state.
Overcrowding is common in jails across the state. As many as 48,000
prisoners are lodged in 54 jails, including six central jails, which
totally have a capacity of 21,745, say officials.
Sometimes inmates go on protest against the poor living conditions,
bad food and lack of safe drinking water.
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