India News | Court Takes Note of Complaint of Assault, Asks DG to Install CCTV in Offices of Tihar Officers
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Taking note of a complaint of alleged physical assault to a murder accused inside prison, a Delhi court has directed the Director General (DG) of Tihar Jail to install CCTV cameras inside the offices of senior jail officials to "dispel false allegations."
New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI)Taking note of a complaint of alleged physical assault to a murder accused inside prison, a Delhi court has directed the Director General (DG) of Tihar Jail to install CCTV cameras inside the offices of senior jail officials to "dispel false allegations."
The direction came on complaints of one under-trial prisoner Monu that he was severely beaten by some jail officials in their offices on two occasions on March 27 and May 31 this year.
“Vide this order, I direct DG Prison Tihar jail to get CCTV cameras installed inside the offices of Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent and to preserve the CCTV recordings as done for other parts of the jail as per rules /procedures,” Additional Sessions Judge Sonu Agnihotri said.
The judge said nowadays, the court proceedings, even at the highest level, can be viewed by the general public while sitting in the comfort of their houses and this reflects nothing but transparency in the functioning of the courts around the country.
Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Police Constable Caught on Camera Thrashing Elderly, Suspended (Watch Video).
“Installation of CCTV cameras in offices of Superintendent/Deputy Superintendent would rather dispel any false allegation against jail officials. It would further reflect transparency in the functioning of courts around India,” the judge said.
Accused Monu, in his plea, said that he was beaten by jail officials in the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Tihar Jail on March 27 and again on May 31.
He said once he was thrashed “for over an hour by tying him on (an) iron Jhoolla (swing).”
The court found that the footage inside the offices of the jail officials was unavailable and hence issued a notice to the Tihar Jail DG as to why the CCTV be not installed to avoid such allegations.
The DG of Tihar, in his report, had said that the offices of the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent are used to host dignitaries and visitors.
These rooms were also used to interrogate inmates and legal interviews of foreign inmates with their consulates, the report said.
The office of Deputy Superintendent (Internal) was also used for other purposes, like hosting spiritual and cultural programmes, meeting with NGOs, and visits by invitees/guests of honour, it said, adding, hence it was not advisable to install CCTV cameras inside these rooms or offices.
While CCTV cameras were not installed inside the rooms, they were strategically placed to cover outside areas of these rooms, the report said.
The court said that it was not insisting on audio recording and that the “ultimate control of the recordings” will remain with jail authorities.
“In case allegations of beating under trial prisoners again come inside these offices, the truth will come to the fore easily. A lot of precious time of courts will be saved…by the installation of CCTV cameras…,” the court said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)