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TO Separate hardened criminals from those jailed for petty crimes, the Delhi government is planning a fourth prison in the national capital, in Narela, The Indian Express has learnt.
Highly placed sources said the Delhi government has already allocated 18-20 acres of land, and funds have been approved. Work on the ground is expected to begin next year, and officials estimate it will take two years to finish. The semicircular prison complex, sources said, will be reserved for terrorists, dreaded gangsters and others incarcerated for heinous crimes.
“Our main aim is to stop these criminals from mixing with inmates in jail for petty crimes. In many cases, the latter are influenced by hardened criminals, and this gets in the way of their reformation process. There are also instances where small-time criminals are ‘hired’ inside the jails itself to work for gangs,” said an official.
There are currently three jails in the national capital – Tihar, which houses a bulk of high-profile criminals, Mandoli and Rohini. Officials said that overcrowding is an issue in all jails, making it difficult to isolate hardened criminals. Tihar Jail is considered the most overpopulated prison complex in South Asia.
According to a reply to The Indian Express by the office of the Director General of Prisons, there were 18,472 inmates lodged at the three prison complexes in the city till December 31, 2022, against a capacity of 10,026. Over 90% of these are undertrials.
“The new prison complex will also limit the interaction of dreaded criminals with the outside world. Right now, criminals are able to access phones since their accomplices managed to sneak them into the prisons or throw packets over boundary walls. The Narela complex will have high walls and two layers of barricades before one finally gets to the cells in the centre. We will also install jammers to ensure calls cannot go through,” said an official, adding that currently, many influential criminals continue their activities from inside the prison.
The new complex is also expected to curb gang clashes inside prison. Padlocks, which take time to lock and unlock, will give way to electronic buttons to open and close cell gates, officials said. In terms of the shape, the official gave the example of the dome-shaped cellular jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a British colonial prison that is now a national memorial monument.
The official, however, maintained that the reformation process will continue – there will be facilities for inmates to meet their families, practice yoga, and engage in furniture and biscuit making, for which they will be paid.
In the first phase, around 250 cells will be constructed, officials said, adding that the project is estimated to cost Rs 120 crore and will be funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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