New Delhi, May 07: Madhya Pradesh government has paid an interim relief of Rs 20,000 to the wife of an undertrial who had died while in police custody in Guna district of the state, following the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The undertrial Chigga had died on October 16, 2000, while in custody at Sirsi police station in Guna district.

The magisterial enquiry report submitted to the commission stated that Chigga's death was caused by serious injuries he had suffered in a scuffle with some other persons on the issue of a piece of land and that police had no role in it. The report said police had taken the injured Chigga to civil hospital in Guna, but he escaped as he did not have money for food or medicines.

Accepting the report's findings, the commission observed that negligence of the concerned officials in not providing medical treatment during police custody was the immediate and proximate cause of death, and recommended that immediate interim relief be paid to the next of kin of the deceased, an NHRC release said here today.

NHRC had also asked the state government to look into the affairs of the "poor working conditions" at the civil hospital in Guna and take remedial measures. Bureau Report