700-inmates-to-be-employed-in-hotel-industry-1200-more-to-get-work-soon-tihar-prisons-chief

Around 700 inmates are employed and 1200 more are presently getting training to work in various sectors after coming out of jail, Tihar's Director General (prisons) Sanjay Beniwal said.

 

In an interaction with reporters on Monday, Beniwal, a 1989 batch IPS officer, said that he’s happy to see inmates, who get employed after spending their jail term.

 

Beniwal, who had a stint as Chandigarh DGP, has been posted as Tihar DG since November 2022.

 

Answering a question over jail reforms during his tenure in Tihar, Beniwal said, "We have started a skill development programme with the help of Urban Development Ministry inside the prisons. Under this programme, around 700 inmates have got jobs in the hotel industry and 1,200 are getting training to get jobs in hospitals.”

 

According to jail officials, an infrastructure is provided inside the prisons for training under-trial prisoners (UTP). The programme was launched in early 2023.

Beniwal said skilling and empowering inmates is something that makes them worth it.

 

"I saw the smile and twinkle in their eyes when they got their certificates and offer letters to work outside," he said.

 

Replying to a question on overcrowding in Tihar jail, which has been witnessing 20,000 inmates against its sanctioned strength of 10,000, Beniwal said that making more jails is not a solution.

 

Delhi has three prison complexes -- Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli -- and all of them comprise central jails.

 

Maybe we can look for other options or better ways of punishing, at least who are delinquent, he said.

Citing an example, he said that a young man was recently caught for stealing Rs 300 in pickpocketing and was brought to Tihar. He stayed here for five months before getting bail.

 

"I am spending Rs 800 per inmate/day which costs us around Rs 24,000 per month. For that 300 rupees theft punishment, I spent your money (exchequer) costing about Rs 1,20,000 in five months. Is it right? That is the question we need to ask," Beniwal said.

 

The proposed jail in Narela, Delhi, will cost us about Rs 170 crore for an odd 250 inmates, which is an expensive affair, he said.

 

The Tihar prisons chief said the current model provision act of jail does provide the power to put the anklets for tracking the movements of those inmates who are released on furlough.

 

"Why can't we do for those who are sent to Tihar as Arnesh Kumar's judgement does speak about not arresting people for certain offences? You can certainly, geofence their movement within their home, court or workplaces. That way you are keeping the person more productive and less burdened. But this is my personal view, maybe I am wrong," he said.

 

On privatising the jail like in foreign countries, Beniwal said that despite privatisation, the US jails are pretty overcrowded.

 

"The number of arrests per lakh people in the US is far more than in India. Privatising the jail is all depends on the situation of the country and how it is governed," he said.

 

Talking about facilities and infrastructure in jail, Beniwal said under "correctional administration", the officials work very hard to change inmate's emotional footprint and mental vibrations.

 

"We run spirituality courses, meditation and targeted exercises for inmates, where they are dragged by force but by the end with guilts what they did in the past. There are various examples I have where they write about their mistakes and say they will never commit any crime whenever go out of jail," he said.

"I am planning to start an 'after-release care centre' where we will follow them up after they come out," he said.

 

Beniwal said the inmates celebrate every festival and participate in national events inside the prisons so that they can't go away from reality.

 

"We try to normalise their life as much as possible. Many people have no visitors as their family members live far away, we have a facility called 'sparsh scheme' where we hug them and give gifts on occasions," he said.

 

Beniwal said that he meets the inmates, listens to their problems, and also tries to solve them.