A medical officer of the Ludhiana Central Jail is in the dock for not performing duty. Justice Gurdev Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Director Health Services (DHS),Punjab,to take departmental action against the erring medical officer in accordance with Punjab Civil Services (PCS) Rules and to report action taken within six months to the court. Meanwhile,the negligence shown by the former executive magistrate of Ludhiana has also come under the scanner. The directions were passed in the wake of a petition filed by Mohinder Kaur whose husband died allegedly due to the negligence of jail officials in Ludhiana . Had the medical officer performed his statutory duty of recording state of health of the deceased,same would have been very helpful for deciding the controversy, Justice Gurdev Sing held in his order. The allegation against medical officer was that he did not record the health of the deceased at the time of admission to the jail,the day he had died. The way in which the inquiry was conducted during the inquest proceedings by the executive magistrate,it becomes necessary that further inquiry be conducted regarding custodial death of deceased, the court held. The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM),Ludhiana,has been directed to hold a thorough inquiry and submit a report within three months. The incident dates back to 2004 when Amar Singh who was convicted in a criminal case was sent to Ludhiana Jail. His widow,Mohinder Kaur alleged in the petition that Singh was repeatedly forced to spray pesticides through out the day in the jail without any rest and against his wishes. It was alleged that no proper equipment for spraying of pesticides was given to him as a result of which he fell unconscious on December 29,2004 . He kept shouting for medical help but the jail authorities did not turn up, the petitioner alleged. Singh was rushed to hospital where he died. A perusal of the inquest report revealed that the then executive magistrate did not make any effort to record the statements of the jail inmates,who were with the deceased. Thorough inquiry was never conducted by the executive magistrate, Justice Gurdev Singh ruled.
