The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports regarding the custodial deaths of three prisoners in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on 15th and 16th June 2025. As per the reports, a male doctor and a female inmate lodged in the District Jail died allegedly due to illness, while another inmate in the Central Jail reportedly died of a heart attack.
Observing that the reported facts, if true, raise serious concerns of potential human rights violations, the Commission has issued notices to the Director General (Prisons), Uttar Pradesh, and the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi. The authorities have been directed to submit a detailed report within two weeks.
The Commission has sought inquest and post-mortem examination reports, initial health screening records of all three deceased prisoners, and the magisterial enquiry reports, to ascertain the circumstances surrounding their deaths.