Bhubaneswar: A total of 546 inmates died in different jails while 51 custodial deaths were recorded in Odisha in the last 10 years, Minister of State for Home Tusharkanti Behera informed the Assembly on Monday.
In a written reply to a query from senior BJD leader and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, the minister said that 200 prisoners and 346 under trial died in different jails of the state between 2013 and 2022.
Eleven prisoners and 35 undertrial prisoners were reported in 2013 and the figures touched 24 and 49 respectively in 2022. A total of 43 prisoners, including undertrials, died in 2014, 46 in 2015, 48 in 2016, 47 in 2017, 51 in 2018, 53 in 2019, 78 in 2020 and 61 in 2021, she said.
While the highest number of 78 prisoners died in 2020, 2015 saw maximum eight custody deaths, she added.
Last month, the Odisha Cabinet had approved a proposal to provide compensation to the next of kin of prisoners who die inside the jails. The provision was made in accordance with December 23, 2021, order of the Orissa High Court.
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