The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Director General, Prisons, Uttar Pradesh, and the Varanasi Police Commissioner, over the reported death of three prisoners in two days at prisons of Varanasi.
As per a statement issued by the Commission, the officials were directed to submit a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
The report should include the inquest and post-mortem examination reports, along with initial health screening reports of all three prisoners, as well as the magisterial enquiry reports, said the statement.
The Commission took suo motu cognisance of a media report claiming that three prisoners died subsequently in custody at Varanasi on June 15 and 16, 2025.
While a male doctor and a female prisoner lodged in the District Jail died due to illness, another jailmate lodged in the Central Jail of Varanasi died due to heart attack.
The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raised serious issues of violation of human rights.