‘Occupancy rate was 126 % at year- end’
Nasir Azam
Srinagar, Sep 01: An official report has revealed that 8664 persons were admitted in jails of Jammu & Kashmir during 2019.
The report- Prison Statistics of India, 2019- unveiled by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) lays bare that 8664 persons were admitted in jails of J&K UT during last year.
The NCRB comes under administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs.
J&K has 15 jails, of which two are central jails, 10 district jails, two sub-jails and one special jail.
According to the data, as on 31.12.2019, available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), 3689 inmates were lodged in J&K jails against the overall capacity of 2910.
This means overall occupancy rate in jails of J&K was 126. 8 percent, which shows overcrowding in the prisons.
According to the report, the occupancy rate in district jails was 136.39 percent,118. 3 percent and 154 .44 percent at lone special jail Pulwama.
In 2019, Jammu & Kashmir government designated Pulwama jail as “correctional home” where young stone pelters or youths involved in other crimes will be rehabilitated and counselled so that they won’t join militancy after their release.
“In exercise of the power conferred by para 2.37 read with para 2.8 of the Manual of the Superintendence and Management of Jails in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (2000), the government hereby classifies district jail Pulwama notified vide notification SRO-211 dated 17.4.2013 as a ‘special jail’ (correctional home) for the purpose of providing correctional services to the inmates,” read the notification issued by then Principal secretary Home, R K Goyal.
According to the report, 12.5 percent inmates in J&K jails were detunes at the end of 2019, which is the third highest in India after Tamil Nadu (38.5 percent) and Gujarat (12.5 %).
Post abrogation of Article 370 by BJP-led central government, the government had detained more than 500 persons under the controversial Public Safety Act, which allows detention for a period ranging from three months to two years—(KNO)
