Maharashtra human rights panel recommends Rs 5 lakh compensation for prison death, seeks action against jail authorities

Time of India

24-06-2025

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has recommended a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of a convicted inmate who died in Nagpur Central Prison in June 2022.
The commission also asked for action against the jail authorities, as their negligence led to the incident. The commission could not determine the events leading to the prisoner's death because the jail authorities reported that the CCTV in the facility was non-functional at the time.
The MSHRC set the compensation amount as per the state govt's recent April circular, which stipulated Rs 5 lakh compensation for families of individuals who die in police or jail custody.
The MSHRC also instructed the state to draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to fix responsibility and accountability for the maintenance, upkeep, and monitoring of CCTV systems in prisons, as directed by the Supreme Court.
The MSHRC order, signed by its chairperson Justice A M Badar and member Sanjay Kumar, stated that the non-functional CCTV system undermined fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
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The commission attributed the custodial death to the negligence of jail authorities and recommended a detailed inquiry by the DIG rank office against the prison authorities for appropriate action.
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The deceased, Mangesh Hirkane, aged 36 from Gondia, served a life sentence in Nagpur Central Prison for a murder case. Mangesh was discovered drowned in a water tank inside the prison barracks shortly after midnight on June 10, 2022.
Authorities claimed he drowned and received treatment for depression in prison. The inquiry after his death did not find foul play but blamed two other convicted inmates assigned to patrolling duty that night for failing to perform their tasks.
The non-functional CCTV cameras in the barracks prevented the Judicial Magistrate from accessing footage. The Magistrate's inquiry concluded that Mangesh died by drowning and was undergoing medical treatment for epilepsy and psychiatric illness. A separate internal inquiry ordered by the DIG prison (east division) found negligence and dereliction of duty by two convicted inmates assigned to guard duty in the barracks.
It noted the CCTV was non-functional, making the exact sequence of events unclear. Also, the night duty officer could not confirm when he last checked the barracks, indicating supervision failure.