‘Jail conditions in India appalling’
LONDON: A prisons expert deposing on behalf of absconder businessman Vijay Mallya on Thursday gave a detailed account of what he called “appalling” and “deplorable” conditions in Indians jails, and doubted the country’s assurances about barrack number 12 in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be lodged, if extradited.
Alan Mitchell, whose previous critical evidence about Tihar jail in Delhi was key to the Westminster magistrates court rejecting India’s request to extradite alleged cricket bookie Sanjeev Kumar Chawla in Octo- ber, cited the recent experience of one of the ‘Chennai Six’ in jails in Tamil Nadu to substantiate his evidence that Mallya, if extradited, would face “deplorable” conditions.
According to a medical report read out in court, Mallya suffers from diabetes, coronary artery disease and sleep apnoea. Mitchell doubted the medical attention he would receive when there were said to be only four doctors available in the Arthur Road jail with a population of nearly 3,000.
Mitchell also rejected India’s assurance that inspection and oversight would be available from various authorities, including the National Human Rights Commission, claiming that there was no satisfactory mechanism to ensure compliance.
He also doubted that local authorities in Mumbai would follow and implement assurances submitted to the court by the Union ministry of home affairs on Mallya’s potential incarceration in the Mumbai jail.