The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has asked the Department of Prisons to install surveillance cameras inside jails to monitor the activities of officials.
SHRC member R. Natarajan said here on Thursday that the Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services (DGP) should take steps in consultation with the State government to stop jail officials from intimidating and beating the accused inside the prison.
The direction comes after his visit to the Kozhikode district jail here.
He said the jail inmates were not guinea pigs to be used as a means of entertainment for the jail officials. There were several allegations that jail officials used to beat them inside the prison. They get away with the crime for want of evidence.
Mr. Natarajan demanded that the DGP and higher officials in the Home Department should conduct inspections at Kozhikode district jail. Under-trial prisoners should be not considered as convicts. Their charges remained to be established in the court.
He said the accused in jails were a helpless lot. The under-trial inmates should be considered as human beings, Mr. Natarajan said.
