Jaipur, March 28 (Udaipur Kiran): Rajasthan has ranked second in the country in cases of deaths in police custody during 2025–26 so far, according to information provided by the Centre in Parliament.

In response to a question, the Union government stated that 18 custodial deaths have been reported in Rajasthan till March 15 in the current financial year. Bihar recorded the highest number with 19 deaths during the same period, placing Rajasthan in second position.

Over the past five years, Rajasthan has reported a total of 51 custodial deaths, placing it among the top five states in the country. However, no action has been taken against any officer or staff member in connection with these cases in the state.

The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in response to queries raised by BAP MP Rajkumar Roat and two other Members of Parliament. The Minister cited data received from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

According to the reply, between April 1, 2021 and March 15, 2026, only one case of disciplinary action based on NHRC recommendations has been recorded in Tamil Nadu across all states and Union Territories.

Providing a year-wise breakup for Rajasthan, 13 custodial deaths were reported in 2020–21, four in 2022–23, seven in 2023–24, nine in 2024–25, and 18 cases have already been reported in 2025–26 till March 15 — the highest in the past five years.

In the current year, after Bihar (19), Rajasthan (18) is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 15 deaths. Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab have each reported 14 custodial deaths, jointly ranking fourth.

Looking at the cumulative data over five years, Maharashtra ranks first with 101 custodial deaths, followed by Gujarat with 85. Bihar also recorded 85 cases, Uttar Pradesh reported 56, and Rajasthan stands fifth with 51 cases.

The Minister further informed that as per NHRC guidelines, every death in police or judicial custody—whether natural or otherwise—must be reported to the Commission within 24 hours. The Commission has also issued directions for video recording of post-mortems and circulated a model autopsy form to rule out negligence, foul play, or torture.

In cases where negligence by officials is established during investigation, the Commission recommends action, which is then taken as per existing rules.

The reply also highlighted that Rajasthan’s prisons have nearly three times more undertrial prisoners than convicts. As per National Crime Records Bureau data as of December 31, 2023, the state had 5,420 convicted prisoners and 17,263 undertrial prisoners.

Among convicted prisoners, 5,293 were men, 126 were women, and one was a transgender person. Among undertrials, 16,799 were men and 464 were women.

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