Child Reform Home, Prison and Detention Centre Monitored by the Human Rights Activists

  January 6, 2023 By: INSEC

Human rights activists monitored the child reform home, prison and detention centre of district police office on January 4 under the planning of INSEC Lumbini Province Office, Nepalgunj.

Combined team of Dwarika Adhikari, Chief of National Human Rights Commission, Nepalgunj, Saraswati Malla, Officer of INSEC Nepalgunj, Basanta Gautam, Coordinator of Advocacy Forum, Lumbini and Bala Bahadur Chand, former Chairperson of Nepalgunj Bar Association conducted the monitoring.

Monitoring team was informed by the inmates that the government’s policy of not providing clothes to the inmates residing in the jail for less than a year has generated the problem of clothing.

Child reform home with the capacity of holding 80 juveniles was accommodating 227 children and the prison with the capacity of holding 50 inmates was accommodating 844 of them.

Basanta Gautam, member of the monitoring team informed that, with the increasing cold, children and inmates are experiencing difficulty due to the lack of warm clothes.

Similarly, Custody of the District Police Office, Banke was also accommodating more inmates (43) that its capacity. Due to space constraint, inmates were found residing in the corridor of the prison.

Monitoring team has expressed concern in the situation of the detention centre along with the basic human right of the inmates and prisoners.

The team met inmates, Krishna Nagarkoti, 19, Abhinash Pun Magar, 22, Puran Chaudhary, 21 and Dharma Thapa, 19 at the District Police Office, Banke who absconded from child reform home through ventilation on December 27, 2022.

The absconded inmates informed that they were compelled to run away from the reform home after being locked in the room, deprived of meeting other people, playing around and sun bathing backed by ruthless behavior of the staffs.

Incharge of child reform home, Bimal Kaucha Magar and security chief were inquired about the said incident. During the inquiry, Magar informed that the security of the reform home is threatened because of a few children.

 


Laxmi Tharu