India, June 25 -- Nearly a year after a 54-year-old life convict died by suicide inside Nagpur Central Prison, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has held prison authorities responsible for failing to ensure his safety, observing that lax supervision enabled him to take his own life in broad daylight within the jail premises.

In an order passed last week, the commission directed the additional director general of prisons to conduct an inquiry into the incident and initiate action against officers found negligent. It also recommended that the state government pay Rs.1 lakh as compensation to the deceased inmate's family.

A division bench comprising commission chairperson A M Badar and member Sanjay Kumar noted that pri...