Delhi government: $7.5 million compensation proposed for unnatural death in custody | Delhi News

New Delhi: The Delhi government has proposed Compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh for families of Prisoners who die an unnatural death, while custody in the city's prisons.
The proposal, which aims to eliminate abuses and safeguard human rights in the prison system, has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor for approval, the Delhi government said in a statement.
“Unnatural deaths in custody, as defined in the policy, can occur due to incidents such as disputes between prisoners, ill-treatment or torture by prison staff, or negligence by medical personnel,” the statement said. However, compensation does not apply to deaths caused by suicide, escape attempts, natural causes or disasters.
Home Minister Kailash Gahlot said: “This initiative underlines our commitment to justice and accountability in the prison system. The families of prisoners who are suffering will receive compensation. unnatural deaths in custody is a step towards addressing their complaints and upholding human rights.”
Gahlot said the policy aims to promote accountability and serve as a preventive measure against misconduct.
In addition, the proposal also includes provisions to collect the compensation amount from the salaries of prison staff found responsible for deaths in custody, the statement said. A committee headed by the Director General of Prisons will investigate such incidents and decide whether to seek compensation from the guilty officials.
To ensure transparency, the prison superintendent will submit a detailed report containing the Justice Ministry's investigation report, the autopsy results and the medical history of the deceased to the Director General of Prisons, and this will be forwarded to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the statement added.
Delhi has three prison complexes – Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli – all central prisons. Most of them are overcrowded. The capacity of the three complexes is 10,000, but they house almost twice that number of convicted prisoners and remand prisoners, the official said.
Tihar is considered one of the largest prison complexes in the country and has a capacity of 5,200 inmates, but over 12,000 prisoners are housed in the various prisons.
Mandoli, which has six jails, has a capacity of 1,050 but houses almost twice as many prisoners. Rohini, which has only one central jail, has a capacity of 3,776 and houses over 4,300 inmates, according to 2022 data.