STUDY QF HEALTH CONDITIONS OF PRISONERS As indicated earlier, analysis by the Commission of deaths of prisoners reported from various States revealed that many llves could have been saved if proper medical examinations had been carried out at the time of the admission of a prisoner and if this had been followedup with periodical medical checks. Acting with the help of an Expert Group, the Commission devised a proforma for the health screening of prisoners and directed the Chief Secretaries of all States, on 11 February 1999, to ensure that medical examinations of all prisoners were conducted in accordance with that proforma. The Commission also directed that monthly progress reports should be communicated to the Commksion in this connection. (Annexure 3.43 Ill). To bring a higher degree of coherence to its work in regard to prisons, the Commission has, further, appointed Shri Sankar Sen, former Director General f Investigation) to serve as Special Rapporteur and Chief Coordinatorfor its Custodial Justice Programme. This will ensure an improved monitoring of the efforts of all concerned and assist in the guidance of prison administrators in the States. 3.44 VISITS TO JAILS 3.45 In the light of complaints received from prisoners, and also acting suo motu, officers of the Commission continued to visit jails notably in Agra, Aurangabad, Bareilly, Bikaner, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Delhi, Mirzapur, Pondicherry and Rampur. Serious deficiencies were noticed in many instances and these are being pursued with the competent State authorities. CONDITIONS OF REMAND HOMES Because of the distressing conditions and the often inhuman treatment of inmates in various remand homes in the country, the Commission had issued instructions to the Secretaries of Welfare Departments of the States to undertake measures to improve the maintenance and upkeep of these homes and to ensure the better treatment of their inmates. The Commission had also sent a set of questionnaires in respect of Borstal institutions, probation homes, protective homes, etc. that had been set up under different statutes and had asked the States to provide information relating to the functioning of these homes/institutions. 3.46 8 y the end of the period under review, information had been received from Goa, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Trlpura and the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Pondicherry. The Union Territories of Qadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep have indicated that they do not have such institutions. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil 3.47