Sinlung /
11 March 2015

HC Directs Centre, Nagaland to Ensure Safety of Prisoners



Dimapur, Mar 11
:The Gauhati High Court has directed the Centre as well as the Nagaland government to ensure adequate security to the prisoners languishing in the jails in Nagaland.
The court issued the directive after hearing a PIL filed by a Guwahati-based activist, Rajib Kalita, on Monday in connection with last week’s lynching of a rape accused in Dimapur.

Kalita had sought an impartial probe into the alleged rape incident. He had requested that the trial of those arrested in connection the lynching of the rape accused be held outside Nagaland.

The court has set a two-week deadline to the Centre and the Nagaland government to respond to the PIL and pointed out that it was the responsibility of Nagaland’s Inspector General of Prisons to provide security to the prisoners.

“The family members of the prisoners are concerned over safety and security inside the jails of Nagaland,” advocate Bhaskar Dev Konwar said.

He also said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had submitted a preliminary report of the alleged rape, received from the Nagaland government, to the court.

Meanwhile, the police said the hunt for the ring leaders of the violent mob, who had stormed Dimapur jail and took away the rape accused, was still on. “We are going after the ring leaders, who have gone into hiding,” IG, Wabang Jamir, told Express.

So far, 43 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching incident.

Meanwhile, Dimapur, which is Nagaland’s largest town and commercial hub, is limping to normalcy, with curfew being relaxed from 6 am- to 4pm on Tuesday.

Bengali Muslims doing business here said a number of traders had fled the town over the past few days.

The community has a sizeable population in the town.

“Traders, especially those who are staying with their families have started leaving. They are worried about their safety. Their family members and relatives are also insisting that they should go back to their villages,” Hasmat Ali, a trader from Assam’s Barak Valley, told Express.

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