By IANS
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Thursday suggested the Delhi government provide employment to the widow of a person, who died in Tihar Jail in judicial custody seven years back, on compassionate grounds.
While hearing a case related to custodial death of Hari Om on Sept 21, 2000,a division bench of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice S.N. Agrawal observed, "You cannot bring her husband back, but could compensate her by rehabilitating her. She has three minor children."
Bulandshar resident Hari Om, 24, wanted by the police for his alleged role in a criminal case, had surrendered before a Tis Hazari courts on Sept 18, 2000 and had been sent to the Tihar jail in judicial custody.
The next day he was admitted to the state-run Din Dayal Upadhyay Hospital reportedly ill and died Sept 21, 2000.
His wife subsequently wrote a letter to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice requesting him to institute a probe into her husband's death. She also pleaded for adequate compensation.
Taking note of the letter, the Chief Justice directed the Tis Hazari district judge to probe the matter and place the report before the court.
After examining the probe report along with the jail and hospital records, the bench observed that Hari Om died in custody and his widow should have been adequately compensated.
The medical report indicated that Hari had three old injuries when the medico-legal check-up was carried out on Sept 18, 2000 before his admission in Tihar Jail, but the post mortem report said he had 18 injuries including some serious one on his chest.
The lawyer appearing for Hari's wife said the status report filed by police did not state the reason of his death.
The medical records had also been manipulated and some words in some pages had been smudged later to save the Tihar officials, who were suspected to have beaten Hari mercilessly in custody, her lawyer said.