No doctors in 63 jails!

We are utterly dumbfounded to know from a report in this daily, that as many as 63 jails across the country have no doctors at all to treat sick prisoners while the Dhaka jail, has only two doctors serving a 172 bed hospital. The report has revealed a glaring lack of not only doctors but also nurses and ambulances. This often leads to prisoners dying because of lack of treatment. Some have died because they had to be sent to public hospitals and breathed their last on the way. Around 111 posts of doctors lie vacant.

It is learnt that the IG of police has informed the finance and health ministries of the shortages but no action has been taken yet.

There have been many reports on the terrible state of most of our prisons with underhand dealings that allow prisoners with connections and money to get certain privileges that ordinary prisoners cannot avail. This includes long hospital stays for their 'illnesses' that allows them to avoid the hardship of prison life. But for the rest of the inmates, things are very different and this report only reinforces that they are treated with utter neglect. Prisoners are in prison because they have breached the law of the land but that does not mean that they can be treated in such an inhuman way. The government must immediately put an end to the huge inadequacies of medical staff and ambulances in all the jails. There is no excuse for such gross negligence and violation of basic human rights that prisoners are entitled to.