Prison system facing crises, all is not just

www.mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, Oct 27, 2019: Parappana Agrahara, the big central jail in Bangalore, the largest prison in the karnataka state, has become a metaphor for the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services - and its flaws.   It has a fearsome reputation.

For much of the department’s history, its actions revolved around the breaking of the spirits of people arrested for heinous crimes. In August 2019, however, a Supreme Court order, acting on a Public Interest Litigation ordered that the department focus on rehabilitation of inmates and add the word “Correctional” to its official title.

The Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation Basavaraj Bommai explained that as a result of the Supreme Court order, the government is trying to modernise the system, while embarking on an expanded programme to reskill workers and make prisons self-sufficient.

The test-bed for these new ventures is Parappana Agrahara, which, with its prison population of 5,177 people out of a total inmate population of 15,134 in the state (10,924 of whom are still under trial), is at the forefront of institutional changes.

At the core of the proposed reformation is a new Prison Development Board which according to Bommai will address the overall improvement of the seven central prisons in the state and prisoner welfare.

The ambitions are massive. The government is earmarking an extra Rs 25 lakh per year to offer skills training for inmates while expanding prison infrastructure.

“We are taking a long-view to the rehabilitation of prisoners. By giving them modern skills and education, we can prevent them from returning to a life of crime,” Bommai said.

However, whistleblowers and officials familiar with the system remain sceptical about the proposed reformations. Among them is D Roopa, the former Joint Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Prisons whose exposure of the preferential treatment being afforded to the then-General Secretary of the AIADMK, V K Sasikala, at Parappana Agrahara catapulted her onto the national stage in 2017.

“There is no systematic supervision in prisons and so whatever jail officers do in a prison becomes the law,” she said, adding that systematic abuses are creating an ecosystem of injustice. It is a view corroborated by a senior official in the state government who has conducted surveys of prisons across the state.

The official, who is not identified, explained that the prison system has failed to implement or adhere to a series of guidelines made at the central level.

“What the system has failed to take into consideration is that when an individual is condemned to prison, what is technically curtailed is only his or her power of movement. All other human rights remain protected by law,” he said.

Tihar jail: Overcrowded, understaffed


Jails are never meant to be a paradise but democratic conventions provide for minimum dignity for a prisoner while curtailing their liberty and act as an agent of change and reform for convicts so that later they can live in a normal society. Indian jails are nowhere near to this concept and Delhi’s Tihar jail is no exception.

One of Asia’s biggest jails, the Tihar jail is bursting at its seams as at least 151 prisoners share space meant for 100. Official statistics available till December 2017 shows that Tihar held 15,161 prisoners in a space where only 10,026 could be accommodated.

Maintaining these many prisoners itself turns a humongous task when this prison is understaffed. While 3,176 posts are sanctioned, only 1,697 jail personnel are in place, leaving a vacancy of 1,479, which runs into 46.6%. This means there is just one jail personnel for eight prisoners.

Overcrowding coupled with less staff has put more pressure on the jail, which witnessed 19 clashes within its premises in 2017. This was only second to Bihar, which had the dubious distinction of having 35 such incidents.

However, Tihar has the highest number of injured – 75 prisoners and six jail personnel – in such clashes. A senior jail official said the lack of staff has an impact on monitoring and sometimes issues run out of control.

While overcrowding and staff crunch create more trouble for Tihar, all is not that bad there too. Tihar administration tries to provide better healthcare to prisoners, especially to detect HIV positive inmates and start treatment. Prisoners are also referred to various speciality and super speciality hospitals.

To minimise outside referrals, a system of organising visits of specialist doctors has also started. All inmates, who are reported to be drug addicts, are identified on the very first day of their admission and directly sent to the de-addiction centre.

Tihar inmates also take part in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan regularly.

“We want to keep a high level of sanitation and maintenance of hygiene. Zero levels of garbage is being maintained in all jails because of the daily lifting of garbage,” the official said.

Yoga, meditation and spiritual activities also form an important part of reformation and rehabilitation policy of
Tihar Prisons.

Another area where Tihar scores is through its brand ‘Tihar Factory’. In 2017, the products made by the inmates fetched Rs 13.99 crore.

Also, when it comes to providing wages, Tihar tops the list. It pays Rs 361 per day for a skilled prisoner, Rs 328 per day for a semi-skilled prisoner and Rs 297 per day for an unskilled prisoner. It has started the blanket unit, soap unit, artificial flower unit, agarbatti making and fashion designing among others to engage prisoners in a purposeful manner.

In a novel initiative, Tihar jail has  also kickstarted a project to train prisoners in BPO, retail sales, computer hardware, trainee chef, beauty wellness etc. Once the prisoners successfully complete the skill development course, they will be provided with a certificate from the government which will help them in finding a suitable job after their release.