New Delhi. Tihar Jail Director General Sanjay Beniwal said that about 700 prisoners have got jobs in the hotel industry and more than 1200 prisoners are getting training to work in various sectors after coming out of the jail. Speaking to the agency’s editors at PTI headquarters on Monday, Beniwal, a 1989 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, said he is happy to see prisoners who get jobs after serving their jail sentence.
Beniwal, who has been the Director General of Police of Chandigarh, is posted as the Director General of Tihar Jail from November 2022. Responding to a question on prison reforms during his tenure in Tihar, Beniwal said, ‘We have started a skill development program inside the prisons with the help of the Urban Development Ministry. Under this programme, about 700 prisoners have got jobs in the hotel industry and 1,200 prisoners are receiving training to get jobs in hospitals.
According to jail officials, an infrastructure has been provided inside the jails to impart training to undertrials and the program was started in early 2023. Beniwal said that providing skills and empowering the prisoners is something that makes them worthy. He said that when they (prisoners) received certificates and offer letters to work outside, I saw a sparkle in their eyes and a smile on their faces.
20 thousand prisoners in Tihar: Tihar DG
In response to a question regarding more prisoners in Tihar Jail than its capacity, Beniwal said that building more jails is not a solution. There are 20,000 prisoners in Tihar against the sanctioned capacity of 10,000. There are three jail complexes in Delhi – Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli and all of them have central jails. He said that other options or better ways of punishing can be explored. Giving an example, Beniwal said that recently a youth was caught for pickpocketing and stealing Rs 300 and was brought to Tihar. He said that he remained in jail for five months before getting bail.
Prisoner is spending Rs 800 per day: Tihar DG
He said that I am spending Rs 800 per prisoner per day, which costs us approximately Rs 24,000 per month. I spent your money (exchequer) to punish that theft of Rs 300, which costs about Rs 1,20,000 in five months. Is it true? This is the question we need to ask. The top official of Tihar Jail said that the proposed jail in Narela, Delhi will cost around Rs 170 crore for 250 prisoners, which is an expensive deal. He said that the current Model Provisions Act of the Jail provides the power to implant devices on the feet of prisoners released on furlough to monitor their movements.
Overcrowding in American jails
On privatization of prisons like in foreign countries, Beniwal said that despite privatization, there is a lot of crowding in American prisons. He said that the number of arrests per lakh people in America is much more than India. Privatizing prisons depends on the situation in the country and how it is run there. Regarding the facilities and infrastructure in the jail, Beniwal said that we organize spiritual courses, meditation and targeted programs for the prisoners. I have many such examples where they write about their mistakes and say that whenever they get out of jail they will never commit any crime.
Planning to start a care center for prisoners
He said that he is planning to start a care center where we will take care of them (prisoners) after they come out. Beniwal said that prisoners celebrate every festival inside the jails and participate in national programs so that they do not get away from the reality. He said that we try to make their lives as normal as possible. No one comes to meet many people because their family members live far away. We have a facility called ‘Sparsh Yojana’ where we hug them and give them gifts on various occasions.’ Beniwal said that he meets the prisoners, listens to their problems and also tries to solve them.
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Tags: Delhi news, Tihar Jail
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 16, 2024, 21:00 IST