Inmate dies at UP's Sitapur jail, family alleges torture

Sitapur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 15 : An inmate at Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur jail, facing charges of rape, died during treatment at the district hospital here on Friday, a senior official said.

After his death, the family members made serious allegations against the jail administration and police has started an investigation.

Bablu Singh was sent to jail in 2020 on the charges of rape of a minor girl. The matter has been pending in a court. After his health deteriorated on Friday, he was admitted to the Sitapur district hospital where he died during treatment. Jail administration said he complained of stomach pain on Thursday morning following which he was shifted to the district hospital. He died on Friday afternoon.

Singh's family said he was fine a day before and alleged that he died due to torture by the jail administration.

Police sent Bablu's body for postmortem.

Meanwhile, other inmates of the Sitapur jail started a hunger strike over the death of the fellow prisoner. They alleged that Bablu died due to a lack of treatment. Following this, higher officials arrived at the jail and spoke to the prisoners.

"Additional District Magistrate and I have gone to the jail and talked to the prisoners. They said that at present there is no doctor in the jail and there is only one pharmacist who is unable to provide treatment. Soon a doctor will be posted in jail. The pharmacist will also be removed," said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Narendra Pratap Singh.

The investigations are underway, he added.