Human Rights Organisation sues Bhopal jail that stamped children's faces

Two minors were stamped with an entry seal on their face when they came to meet their imprisoned relatives on Raksha Bandhan at the Bhopal Central Jail on Monday (August 7). Bhopal Central Jail’s superintendent said that it must have been a mistake. MPHRC has taken cognisance of the incident after the photograph of two minors with stamp on face was published today in the newspapers.

In a weird case of identity-tagging, two minors were stamped with an entry seal on their face when they came to meet their imprisoned relatives on Raksha Bandhan at the Bhopal Central Jail on Monday (August 7).

The Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) too has taken cognisance of the matter after photographs of two children including a girl with an entry seal on their faces was published by Nai Dunia.

The jail authorities, however, said the incident of ‘stamping-seal-on-face’ was an unintentional goof-up and might have been done mistakenly due to the surge of visitors in the jail premises to mark Raksha Bandhan.

“A couple of children might have been stamped with an entry seal on their cheeks. It was unintentional and done mistakenly as over 8,500 people – mostly women and children – visited the jail premises on the day of Raksha Bandhan,” Bhopal Central Jail’s superintendent Dinesh Nargave told PTI.

Nargave said there is a practice of putting an entry seal on every visitor’s hand in a bid to distinguish them from the jail inmates.

“The visitors mix with the prisoners and it is hard to point them out. So, a stamp is embossed on the hand of a visitor to identify them,” he added.

Nargave speculated that this goof-up might have occurred as some women and girls wear burqa.

“We are conducting an inquiry into the matter. We will take action against the employee concerned, if found that this was done intentionally,” he assured.

Meanwhile, the MPHRC has served notice to the director general of jails seeking an explanation on this incident within seven days of notice.

“MPHRC has taken cognisance of the incident after the photograph of two minors with stamp on face was published today in the newspapers. We have served a notice to director general of jails seeking explanation about the incident,” commission’s public relation officer L.R. Sisodia told PTI.

He said the commission considered the stamping of the face of child and the girl as a breach of human rights and also a violation of child rights.