Bhubaneswar: The State Directorate of Prisons and Correctional Services which has been in the line of fire following the gangster Sk Hyder’s escape from SCB medical College and Hospital has held the police responsible for the incident.
The notorious criminal had managed to escape from the surgery ward of the hospital by reportedly drugging the lone guard on duty April 10 afternoon. Hyder was later nabbed by the special team of Commissionerate Police with the help of their Telangana counterpart from Sangareddy district of Telangana April 15. The Home department immediately sought a detailed report from the jail directorate in connection with the reasons and persons responsible for the escape of the gangster. According to sources, the DIG prisons (Headquarters) has recently submitted a detailed factual report to the Home department.
Sources also revealed that the Prisons department has put all the blame for the gangster’s escape on the state police force, especially the Sambalpur police. The directorate reportedly claimed that the officials of Circle Jail at Sambalpur had followed the Standard Operating Procedure (as instructed by the National Human Rights Commission.
The prisons department claimed that the jail staff seek police escort while shifting any sick hardened criminal to hospital as per the procedure. The jail officials shifted Hyder to SCB medical with police escort March 23. Earlier, Hyder was brought to the SCB Medical January 19 and February 23, 2021 for checkup.
It is also revealed that the dreaded gangster has been suffering from multiple diseases such as Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, CKD, cervical and lumbar spondylosis, old injury in right elbow and right knee joint with restricted movement, Obesity along with Urological, Skin, Nephrology and Neurology problems.
The Ophthalmology doctor at VIMSAR had reportedly advised for a plastic surgery of Hyder at SCB 29 December, 2020. The DIG of prisons has blamed the police force for Hyder’s escape while giving clean chit to the officials of Circle jail at Sambalpur.
“Jail staffs are no way responsible since he (Hyder) escaped from police custody,” the jail department concluded in the report to the Home department.
Prisons dept’s new circular
The Prisons department has issued a circular directing the superintendents of jails across the state to seek permission from the courts where the sick prisoners are being tried before shifting them to referral hospitals for police escort to prevent any escape by prisoners. The department has been facing flak for repeated incidents of prisoners fleeing custody. The officials have also been asked to seek official written recommendations of superintendents of hospitals where the prisoners are getting treated before shifting to referral hospitals.As per the circular, many sick prisoners are succumbing on their way to the referral hospitals or medical colleges. Some prisoners are also dying after getting admitted to referral hospital after a very short period. “In future, you must obtain specific recommendation of the superintendent of hospital concerned that such facility is not available and specific recommendation to referral hospital (by name) by concerned Superintendent with seal/ stamp mentioning probable period of treatment also,” directs Director General for prisons, SK Upadhyaya.
