Bhubaneswar, Nov. 27 -- The Orissa High Court has ordered the state government to pay Rs 20 lakh compensation to the wife of an undertrial prisoner who reportedly died in custody due to alleged negligence in providing timely medical treatment at the Nimapada Sub-Jail in Puri district.

The court, in its order, which came eight years after the petition was filed by the deceased's wife, directed that the amount must be paid within six weeks.

Sources informed that the deceased, identified as Krutibas Khatei, had been arrested on September 20, 2016, in a case registered at Pipili Police Station and was lodged as an undertrial prisoner.

He died in custody on January 26, 2017, after his health condition allegedly deteriorated without adequate...