The recent attack by Mustafa Dossa on Abu Salem has again brought into focus prison life,where money rules,gangsters call the shots and rivalries are not forgotten. The Arthur Road prison,with twice as many undertrials as it can accommodate,is no easy facility to run,jail superintendent Rajendra Dhamne tells Mustafa Plumber. After the recent attack on Salem allegedly by Dossa,can we say Arthur Road prison is safe for undertrials?Of course it is safe for undertrials. We have taken all security measures,double-checked all our security arrangements to ensure that no such incident is repeated. I think the media overplayed the incident. Petty fights between undertrials do happen,but nothing goes out of hand. Minister of State Ramesh Bagwe has said luxury items are available to undertrials for a price. Is this true?Whatever the undertrials have inside their cells has been allowed by the orders of courts. Is there a shortage of manpower to keep a check on prisoners?Yes,the Arthur Road prison was built to accommodate 800 prisoners,but there are over 2,000 undertrials lodged at any given time. So the manpower is less (than required). But since the official quarters are close by,my staff and I are able to reach there within minutes and disperse the undertrials whenever there is an alarm. Are any steps proposed by the prison authorities for reducing overcrowding?All prisons in the state are overcrowded,but Arthur Road is exploding. The recent High Court order for releasing petty offenders booked for bailable offences has come as a major boon. In the last three months I have been able to release over 300 prisoners after giving a bond to the court. This has for the first time brought down the prisoners count below 2,000. But since Arthur Road is a transit prison,any accused sent in judicial custody has to be compulsorily lodged here. Thus the count of prisoners is always high. But now the Taloja prison is open and accused who have got long dates in court are being shifted there. In addition,extra barracks are being made in Arthur Road jail for accommodating the existing prisoners better. What safety steps are taken after any assault?We analyse the situation and if the need arises then as per the jail manual and court orders,we have the powers to shift the accused to a different prison for security. Let me tell you this,small fights do happen among prisoners but nothing major has happened from the time I have taken charge. What are the plans for Ajmal Kasabs appearance in the Bombay High court?It is under consideration and we havent yet decided on anything. As and when the appearance day is decided we will take some decision on how to produce him in court.
