Kathmandu, September 6 :

The condition of four out of 12 prisoners of the city’s central jail, who have been staging a fast-unto-death at the city’s central jail since August 28, is fast deteriorating, representative of the prisoners at the four prisons of the Valley — central jail, Dillibazaar Sadar Khor, Nakkhu jail and Bhadragol jail — Sunil Kumar Sharma said, identifying the four as Dambar Limbu, Mahendra Devkota, Chiranjivi Rai and Badri Moktan.

Six prisoners each began a fast-unto-death at the central jail on September 2 and September 5. Seeking amnesty for all prisoners, 24 prisoners have been staging fast-unto-death.

The prisoners of the central jail have even stopped taking water from yesterday, Sharma said. On Saturday, the prisoners of the Nakkhu jail had burnt effigies of three members of the Jail Reform Committee (JRC), formed three months ago to study the problems of prisoners across Nepal.

The prisoners had revived their protests as the JRC, which was given two months to submit a report on the prisoners’ problems, could not do its job even in three months. Though a team of the ICRC had visited the agitating prisoners and asked the government to conduct a health check-up immediately, nothing has been done.

Meanwhile, prisoners of the Dillibazaar Sadarkhor launched a protest recently. They have begun barring jail administration from keeping more prisoners at the jail, Sharma said.

Jailor Rishikesh Niroula of the central jail confirmed health condition of the four prisoners was fast deteriorating. The doctor, who met the prisoners yesterday, had called the jail administration to conduct an early check-up, but the prisoners refused to undergo a check-up.

Niroula said the government has extended the tenure of the committee by a month. The committee would submit the report to the government on September 28. The committee members had also met the agitating prisoners on Monday.

Surya Bahadur Shrestha, a panel member and director of the Prison Management Department, said JRC would submit the report on the stipulated time, calling on the government to save the prisoners’ lives.