A 31-year-old undertrial prisoner accused in a Pocso case died in a jail in Odisha’s Gajapati district on Saturday night with his family demanding an investigation into the unexplained death.
Runa Badarait, 31, a resident of Jirang village under Rayagada police station was arrested on Augus 10 in connection with a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and was in judicial custody at the Paralakhemundi sub-jail.
Paralakhemundi jail superintendent Kamakshi Prasad Pati said Runa complained of chest pain at around 8pm on Saturday. A jail pharmacist examined him and administered medicines, after which his condition appeared to improve, he said.
Around 12.30am, Runa’s condition deteriorated again and he was shifted to the Paralakhemundi District Headquarters Hospital, where a doctor declared him dead, Pati said.
The family of the deceased questioned the circumstances of his death, saying he was in good health and had spoken to his wife by phone on Saturday afternoon.
“My husband was healthy. He had never suffered from any illness. He spoke to me over the phone from the jail yesterday afternoon. Even then, he did not speak of any health problem,” his wife, Jayamani Badarait, said.
{{/usCountry}}“My husband was healthy. He had never suffered from any illness. He spoke to me over the phone from the jail yesterday afternoon. Even then, he did not speak of any health problem,” his wife, Jayamani Badarait, said.
{{/usCountry}}She said the family was unable to accept the sudden and unnatural death and suspected there could be another reason behind it.
Runa’s relative Tuna Badarait said the family saw foam coming from his mouth when they reached the hospital, raising further questions over the circumstances of his death. “We demand a high-level investigation into the incident,” he said.
The jail authorities, however, said Runa’s health deteriorated suddenly and that he was taken to hospital after receiving initial treatment inside the prison.
Police officials however said there was a discrepancy between the jail authorities’ account and the medical report. Paralakhemundi police station inspector-in-charge Prashant Bhupati said the medical report said that Runa was already dead when he was brought to the hospital.
“Therefore, an inquest was conducted in the presence of an executive magistrate, and a case of unnatural death has been registered. The investigation is underway,” Bhupati said.
The death comes amid concerns over prison conditions and inmate deaths in Odisha. At least 370 prisoners died in the state’s prisons between 2019 and 2024, according to government data. Five prisoners have died in Odisha prisons so far this year.
A performance and compliance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in April this year found widespread overcrowding and deficiencies in prison infrastructure and healthcare across the state’s 87 jails.
The audit found that inmates were provided an average sleeping space of as little as 1.91 square metres, against the 3.71 square metres required under the Odisha Model Jail Manual 2020.
The CAG said overcrowding had reached critical levels in some facilities, with certain jails holding more than twice their sanctioned capacity. The Special Jail in Bhubaneswar was operating at 25% above capacity, while District Jail Balasore was 21% over capacity.
The audit also identified a shortfall of 1,287 bathing places across the prisons surveyed, while women prisoners at the sub-jail in Deogarh were found using open platforms for bathing because covered bathing cubicles were unavailable.
The CAG report also found shortages of medical staff in prison hospitals relative to the available bed capacity. Apart from a minor operation theatre and physiotherapy facilities at Berhampur jail and a psychiatric unit at Choudwar Circle Jail, clinical facilities for prisoners were largely unavailable, the audit found.