- Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura
Agartala, May 22, 2022: The Tripura High Court recently directed the Directorate of Prison, Government of Tripura to establish a medical unit in central correctional home premises at Bishalgarh under Sepahijala district to make sure that all inmates get treatment on time.
The Division Bench comprised of Justice Arindam Lodh and Justice Satya Gopal Chattopadhyay passed the directions while dismissing a petition filed by the state government challenging the order of single bench.
“The concerned authorities were also asked to arrange ‘emergency funds’ in order to provide better treatment to the ill inmates in the central correctional home”, the Justices mentioned in the verdict.
Senior advocate Purashottam Roy Barman represented Chandan Dey’s wife in the High Court and told reporters, “In connection with the case, there are three specific directions. Firstly, the Court directed the state government to compensate an amount of Rs 10 lakh to Dey’s family. Secondly, for treatment of serious inmates suffering from any kind of health complexities, the Court also asked the authorities to establish a medical unit in the central correctional home. And thirdly, arrange for special and emergency funds”.
It is noteworthy to mention here that, Chandan Dey (35) was awarded imprisonment for one and half years for rash driving. During the tenure of his imprisonment, Dey fell seriously ill and on June 09, 2017 he was admitted to GBP hospital. He was referred to SSKM hospital in Kolkata on June 19 for better treatment but the concerned department did not shift him to Kolkata. As a result, for not getting proper treatment, he succumbed on May 23 at GBP hospital here. Besides, medical probe revealed that Dey was suffering from Japanese Encephalitis. Seeking compensation, Dey’s wife moved to the High Court. In a verdict, the single bench headed by Justice Subhasish Talapatra directed the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family on January 20, 2020. Later, the order was challenged in the division bench by the state government which was dismissed.
