She confessed to having creating documents as proof of supply of pads

The State Human Rights Commission has directed the Tamil Nadu government to initiate disciplinary action against the Superintendent of Special Prison for Women, Tiruchi, for irregularities and providing false information about provision of sanitary napkins to the inmates.

D. Jayachandran, SHRC member, took suo motu cognisance of the irregularities during an inspection.

The inmates told the Commission member that they had not been provided with sanitary napkins from November 2016 and were advised to ask their relatives to bring the napkins when they visited the prison.

An investigation was ordered into the issue and the Superintendent of Police, Investigation Wing of the SHRC found that the SP of the prison, Rajalakshmi, created certain documents to show as proof of supply of 1,100 napkins to the inmates, “which is factually incorrect and it is to noted that there is no receiver’s signature in the register as found in other government issue registers”.

The Superintendent could not furnish the proof of having bought sanitary napkins from an organisation ‘Sevai’, a voluntary service organisation in Karur, nor did she intimate the Prisons ADGP about this alleged purchase, the commission found.

Ms. Rajalakshmi submitted a letter to the commission in June confessing to creating documents only recently and offered her unconditional apology.

The commission instead ordered action against her for the violation.