Police claim HRCM misled public over water sanitation issue

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during a visit to Dhoonidhoo Jail | Photo: President's Office

Dhoonidhoo, Maldives –  In a statement released by Maldives Police Service today, the institution has claimed that the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has misled the public with regards to the water sanitation issue at the Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial.

The statement by Police comes after a notice by HRCM on October 27th, highlighting the unsanitary conditions of the drinking and bathing water provided at the custodial, urging the institution to improve the conditions as soon as possible, which as per HRCM, the institution failed to adhere to, leading to the decision of HRCM to take action against Dhoonidhoo Police custodial, under the Human Rights Commission Act.

However, Police claim that the press release by HRCM was an attempt to mislead the public, explaining in their statement that some water carrying pipes have been changed and that work is being prioritized to obtain and setup a water chlorination and an ultra-violet filtration system. However, due to public holidays and procedures involving asset procurement which require written approvals from the Ministry of Finance, there have been some minor delays, justified the Police.

The statement ended with Police saying they have temporarily switched prisoners to bottled drinking water.