An undertrial prisoner died while receiving treatment at Baruipur Sub-Divisional Hospital in West Bengal, with police beginning an investigation into the circumstances of his death and initially suspecting suicide. The death has also raised questions about how the incident occurred inside a government hospital while the prisoner was under institutional care.
The deceased was identified as Azharul Laskar, a resident of the Jibantala area. According to police information cited by Anandabazar, he was arrested on October 10 in connection with a kidnapping case and sent to Baruipur correctional facility on the direction of a court.
Laskar was taken to Baruipur Sub-Divisional Hospital the following day after he became physically unwell. The report said the correctional facility authorities arranged his admission, after which he remained under treatment at the hospital. He died there on Monday.
The exact circumstances of the death have not yet been established. Police have started an investigation, while the hospital administration has provided an initial account of the prisoner’s health. Hospital superintendent Suparnakanti Haldar said Laskar had stomach-related problems as well as mental-health issues, and that suicide was being suspected. The superintendent also said the investigation was continuing.
The case has brought attention to the supervision arrangements for prisoners receiving treatment in public hospitals. The available report does not specify the ward in which Laskar was admitted, the level of security assigned to him, or the precise manner in which the suspected suicide occurred. These details are expected to form part of the investigation into how the incident could take place without being noticed.
The death also places the post-mortem report at the centre of the next stage of the inquiry. Police expect the examination to help establish the actual cause of death. The post-mortem was scheduled for Tuesday, after which investigators are expected to assess the medical findings alongside the circumstances of the prisoner’s hospitalisation and supervision.
The case involves two public institutions: the correctional facility that arranged the prisoner’s transfer for treatment and the government hospital where he died. Until the investigation and post-mortem are complete, the circumstances surrounding the death remain unconfirmed beyond the preliminary suspicion recorded by police and the hospital superintendent’s statement. The authorities’ next formal findings will determine how the death is classified and whether further questions arise about hospital and custodial procedures.
