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In a major embarrassment to the Andhra Pradesh government, the State Human Rights Commission has held it responsible for the murder of Julakunti Srinivas Reddy alias Muddu Seenu, who was killed in the Anantapur jail last week, and ordered the government to pay compensation of Rs five lakh to his widow.
APHRC chairman Justice B Subhashan Reddy passed the landmark order after the Director General of Police (Prisons) Lokendar Sharma admitted that the jail staff had been negligent and failed to protect Seenu's life.
Top AP leaders in the dock over criminal's murder
Seenu, the prime accused in the 2005 murder of senior Telugu Desam Party legislator Paritala Ravindra, was allegedly killed by another prisoner Om Prakash.
In his order, Justice Reddy directed the government to pay the compensation by November 30. He added that there was no need for further investigation as the DGP himself had admitted to the lapses on the part of the jail staff.
Lokendar Sharma, in his reply to the commission's notice, admitted that the jail guards should not have kept a convict (Muddu Seenu) and an under trial (Om Prakash) in the same cell.
The commission also took note of the fact that though the two prisoners had been fighting for some time, the jail staff failed to send them to separate cells. This is first time that the APHRC has passed such a stringent order against the government.
"He (Muddu Seenu) was in the custody of the state which was liable to protect his life. The officials of the state were grossly negligent in protecting the life of the prisoner and the government is liable for the negligence of its employees," said the APHRC.
The APHRC also came down heavily on the state government for the inadequate arrangements in Anantapur jail.
The state government, under fire from the opposition Telugu Desam party and human rights activists for Seenu's murder, has already suspended two warders, two head warders and a deputy superintendent of the Anantapur jail.