East-Maoist Hazribagh was found dead in an open jail. Bharat News

Jail officials said that Dehri looked at Duhan Dehri village in Dumka district of Jharkhand. He was transferred from Central Jail Dumka and entered the ‘Surrender Jail’ on 9 February 2021. He was facing trial in eight pending criminal cases related to Naxal activities.

The incident came to light during the morning headcut when the dairy, which was recorded in ward number D, did not respond to the call from the jail staff.

Jail Superintendent Jitendra Kumar told The Indian Express that the deceased was an unmarried man from Dumka district and living alone in one of the 100 cottages, which was for the surrender Naxalite. “Each prisoner is given an individual unit consisting of a room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It is not a specific gel, but a rehabilitation feature for surrender cadres.”

He allegedly surrendered on 22 April 2020, initially after joining the banned organization in his village due to a land dispute. Kumar said, “He joined the Naxalite outfit, hoping that he would help resolve his land issue, but when it did not happen, he surrendered.”

Officials said the prisoner had not shown any signs of mental illness during his stay.

Kumar said, “He was not under any psychiatry care. People with such issues are sent to Ranchi for treatment.”

However, another official said, “We do not have a trained counselor in this prison, and honestly, there are mostly gels across the country. There is a lack of a serious staff. Sometimes NGOs operate small sessions, but nothing is regular or institutional.”

A fellow prisoner also said that the deceased sometimes talked about tension on unresolved land disputes.

Official information said that there was no suicide incident in Hazaribagh Open Jail in recent years.

However, in the last two to three months, four such cases have been reported in jails across the state. They were informed to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).