AGARTALA:
The Tripura High Court, on May 20, directed the state Directorate of Prison to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the wife of a man who died while he was in Central Correctional Home at Bishalgarh in Tripura’s Sepahijala district.
The division bench of Justice Arindam Lodh and Justice SG Chattopadhyay entitled the wife of one Chandan Dey to get Rs 10 lakh compensation from the government and also asked the state to set up a medical unit within the premises of the correctional home and arrange “emergency funds” so that financial constraints do not hamper the treatment of ill inmates.
“The court has also directed the state government to set up a medical unit in the central correctional home,” Dey’s lawyer, advocate Purushottam Roy Barman said.
Earlier in January 2020, a single bench headed by Justice Subhasish Talapatra had ordered the state to compensate the wife of Dey but the latter had challenged the order. On Friday, the division bench upheld Justice Talapatra’s verdict.
Chandan Dey (35), who was sent to jail for 1.5 years for rash driving, fell ill while he was in prison, and on June 09, 2017, was admitted to GBP hospital in Agartala. Later, he was referred to SSKM hospital Kolkata for better treatment but the department did not shift him to Kolkata following which Dey died on June 23 of 2017 at GBP hospital and the medical investigation confirmed that he died of Japanese Encephalitis. After his death, his wife moved the High Court seeking financial compensation.