An undertrial prisoner died inside Baruipur Subdivisional Hospital in South 24 Parganas while receiving treatment under police security, prompting an investigation into how the death occurred and whether custodial safeguards were breached.
The prisoner was identified as Azharulla Laskar, a resident of the Jibantala police station area, according to a report by Sanmarg. He had been admitted to the government hospital for treatment and was being held under police custody when his body was found inside the hospital premises.
The report said Laskar was found hanging in a hospital bathroom. Initial information indicated that he had allegedly used a towel to make a noose. The circumstances have not been established conclusively, and the cause and manner of death are subject to the ongoing investigation.
The incident has brought the security arrangements for prisoners receiving treatment in public hospitals into focus. A hospital is designed primarily for medical care, while an undertrial prisoner inside it remains in the custody of the police. That makes responsibility for access, supervision and movement dependent on coordination between the hospital administration and the security personnel deployed with the prisoner.
Questions have consequently been raised about how a towel or other potential means of self-harm came within the prisoner’s reach, and how the incident was not detected by the police personnel or guards responsible for monitoring him. These questions remain allegations or investigative concerns, rather than established findings.
Sanmarg reported that the death led to concern within the local police administration and that officers were examining the circumstances. The investigation is expected to establish what happened inside the bathroom, the nature of the prisoner’s medical condition, the level of supervision in place and whether any procedural lapse contributed to the death.
The case also highlights the operational challenge of managing people in custody outside a conventional correctional facility. When undertrials are shifted to hospitals, security arrangements must function within spaces containing shared bathrooms, medical wards, staff movement and other patients. The supplied report does not provide details of the hospital’s specific prisoner-security protocol, the number of personnel deployed or whether any formal review has been ordered.
No conclusion about negligence or the precise cause of death has been reported at this stage. The next official findings from the police investigation will be important in determining whether the death resulted from a failure of supervision, an individual act, or other circumstances not yet established.
