Jaipur, March 28 -- Data tabled in Parliament by the Union ministry of home affairs has revealed that the state has ranked second in the country in the number of custodial deaths reported in 2025-26. According to the data shared by minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, 18 custodial death cases were reported in the state till March 15, 2026, which puts it almost at par with Bihar, which reported 19 cases. The figures highlight a concerning trend. Over the past five years, a total of 51 custodial deaths were reported in the state, placing it among the top five states nationwide. The data also reveals that no action has been taken against any police personnel in connection with these deaths. The sharp spike in the current year compounds the concern, said officials. Numbers were significantly lower in previous years, with 13 deaths reported in 2020-21, four in 2022-23, seven in 2023-24, and nine in 2024-25. T Across the country, Bihar leads the tally this year, followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which has reported 15 custodial deaths so far. Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab share the fourth position with 14 cases each. When viewed over a five-year period from April 2021 to March 2026, Maharashtra tops the list with 101 deaths, followed by Gujarat and Bihar with 85 cases each, Uttar Pradesh with 56, and Rajasthan at the fifth position with 51 deaths. The Centre, in its submission, reiterated the guidelines laid down by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in such cases. "Every custodial death-whether due to natural causes or otherwise-must be reported to the NHRC within 24 hours. The Commission has mandated video recording of post-mortems and issued standardized formats for autopsy reports to ensure transparency and rule out negligence, foul play, or custodial torture. In cases where lapses are found, the NHRC recommends disciplinary action against the responsible officials," states the Ministry in the reply. However, the data indicates that implementation of these recommendations remains limited. Over the past five years, only one instance of disciplinary action based on NHRC recommendations has been reported, in Tamil Nadu, pointing to a larger national issue of weak enforcement. Commenting on the matter, former state director general of police, Bhupendra Singh said that in cases of custodial deaths, a protocol is in place under which an inquiry is conducted by a judicial magistrate, and further course of action is decided based on the report. He added that deaths in custody can occur due to illness, suicide, or alleged police assault....