Kannur: Three assistant prison officers were on Saturday suspended for alleged lapses of duty which led to the suicide of murder accused Soumya in the women’s prison here recently.

Soja, K P Deepa and Mini Thekkeveettil, who were on duty on the fateful day, were suspended by DGP (jail) R Sreelekha. She also recommended to the state government to take action against jail superintendent P Sakunthala who went on leave despite knowing that the deputy superintendent would also be not working that day. Sakunthala is also accused of not ensuring the service of enough cops. Department-level action will be taken against the assistant superintendent who was late by two hours that day.

Soumya, accused of poisoning her aged parents and her little daughter, was found hanging on the jail premises on August 24. Her body was cremated at the Payyambalam crematorium by the jail authorities since no relative came forward to claim it.

Initial inquiries into the suicide of the remand prisoner pointed a finger at the jail officers for dereliction of duty. Though remand prisoners are seldom given responsibilities in the jail, the authorities had made an exemption for Soumya because she had repeatedly asked for work.

There have been allegations of a cover-up to protect senior officers in the case. An influential leader of the officers’ association has been lobbying to save the skin of a woman officer, sources said.

The DIG visited the jail five days after the sensational suicide. Though he submitted his report within a day, the headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram sat on it for some more days.

Director general of police R Sreelekha, who is in charge of the state’s prisons, said that the officer had submitted a detailed report that required careful perusal. The report contains testimonies of jail staff and prisoners. She said that the report had been passed on to the section concerned. An order may be issued this weekend.

Investigation into the Pinarayi murders has been handed over to the crime branch after the only accused died in mysterious circumstances. Soumya’s relatives had alleged that she could not have wiped off the entire family alone.

The DIG’s report has pointed to lapses at three levels. He has put in the dock the officers directly in charge of the prisoner, their superiors who had a monitoring duty and the jail staff as a whole.

The superintendent did not ensure the adherence of the directive from the DGP that either the superintendent or the deputy superintendent should be present on the jail premises all the time. The superintendent took a leave on the fateful day even though he was aware that the deputy superintendent was already on leave. He did not ensure that there were enough staff to man the jail.

The assistant superintendent reached the jail late for work on that day. He was supposed to report for duty at 9 am but he came two hours late. By then Soumya had died.

The assistant prison officers were directly responsible. The officer who was in charge of Soumya’s block failed to keep a watch on her movements. Soumya could get hold of a fellow inmate’s sari to hang herself, and nobody noticed.

The officer who was responsible to watch over the prisoners on field duty did not know that Soumya had drifted away towards the compound wall. The officer did not notice Soumya’s absence for half an hour. The officers had no clue that a high-profile inmate like Soumya was writing notes from her cell. They could have got a clue about the inmate’s disturbed mental stage had they gone through her diary.

The security and discipline in the women’s prisons have been compromised by the lax attitudes of the staff, the deputy inspector general blamed in his report. He has called for frequent transfer of staff to prevent a situation when an officer gets too comfortable with his surroundings. The superintendent of the Kannur women’s jail has been on the job for about 10 years.

The deputy inspector general has received clues from the prisoners that Soumya was contemplating suicide from the day she entered the jail. The authorities failed to notice it and take preventive measures.

The jail authorities had planned to organise an Onam feast the day after Soumya died. Had they called in more personnel to help organise the party, they could have got more people to keep a tab on the prisoners.

Only four officers were on duty in the jail on that day, even though the total staff strength exceeded 20. One of them came to work too late.