Kochi: Former jail DGP Alexander Jacob has often refused to answer queries made from the office of the Director-General of Prosecution. According to top legal sources, the state’s legal team at the High Court had sought statements in several cases, but Jacob refused to submit replies in time.
Most of the queries were related to the jailing of CPM activists in connection with the Fasal murder and TP murder cases. In the Fasal murder case, the state had sought the jail department’s opinion regarding the custody of the accused, but the department deferred its opinion. Even after repeated requests, Jacob failed to submit a statement in time, top source claimed. The plea seeking installation of CCTV has been pending before the court for more than a year but the state has not taken any steps so far.
The high court had considered the recommendations of P. Ashok Kumar, Assistant Inspector General of Police, regarding the installation of CCTV cameras in all the barracks, visitors’ rooms and also of the jail staff.
Significantly, the high court observed that if the recommendations had been implemented, the allegations against the jail staff and the VIP treatment of the prisoners could have been avoided.
