Hyderabad, Nov. 2: On Friday, Andhra Pradesh decided to do away with lock-ups in police stations.

The move is aimed to contain the growing incidence of lock-up deaths and prevent illegal detention of women and political activists.

The decision was made after a long debate in the state Assembly last summer, when almost 42 lock-up deaths were reported in police stations throughout the state. The victims comprised mostly from the lower and middle income groups.

The state government’s decision comes in the backdrop of a human rights commission finding which ranked Andhra Pradesh the second in the country in the volume of custodial deaths and violation of human rights by illegal detentions. The toll due to lock-up and other custodial deaths in the state in the past 10 months was 16, police say.