September 2nd,2020
Topic:- Human Rights(Inhumane Condition)
What is the news?
- As per the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) report, Punjab jails in bad shape.
Reasons:-
- Highest rights abuse complaints pending.
- Among the top three in custodial suicides & unnatural deaths.
NCRB Report:-
- Punjab prison system needs urgent correctional measures as the state has topped in the number of human rights abuse complaints in the country, besides being among the top three states in the categories of jail escape, parole jump, custodial suicide and unnatural deaths.
- The report released on Monday in New Delhi said as many as 180 prisoners complained to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in Punjab, followed by Madhya Pradesh (64) and Maharashtra (45) in 2019.
- The report said with 103 (out of 180) pending complaints of human rights abuse, Punjab was on the top in the country as per the pendency of complaints list. Punjab is second on the dubious list of unnatural deaths in the jail with 20 cases. As many as 29 such incidents were reported in Uttar Pradesh jails while West Bengal reported 12.
- The state is also second in the country in the number of suicides in the prisons. Of the total 116 suicides in the country, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number (20) followed by Punjab (13) and West Bengal (11) during 2019.
- The state was third in incidents of escape from police custody. Highest of such cases were reported by Uttar Pradesh (25) followed by Maharashtra (17) and Punjab (14). The state was, however, fourth to re-arrest of the escapees. During the year 2019, a total of 468 persons escaped from lawful custody and 231 persons were arrested again.
- In 2019, only one firing incident in jail was reported from Punjab, in which, one inmate died. Punjab figured high in the number of the release of undertrials and on parole. Punjab released 8,116 undertrials followed by 6,822 in Rajasthan. Of the 205 prisoners who jumped parole, maximum absconders were reported by Rajasthan (48) followed by Gujarat (41) and Punjab (35).
About the National Crime Records Bureau:-
- The National Crime Records Bureau, abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL).
Headquarter:-
- NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi.
Part of which ministry:-
- It is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India.
Who is the current Director?
- The current Director of NCRB is Ramphal Pawar (IPS).
Historical Background:-
- NCRB was set-up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.
- It was set up based on the recommendation of the Taskforce,1985 and National Police Commission,1977 by merging the Directorate of Coordination and Police Computer (DCPC), Inter-State Criminals Data Branch of CBI and Central Finger Print Bureau of CBI.
- Earlier Statistical Branch of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) was also merged with NCRB but was later de-merged.
(Source:- The Tribune(Punjab))