Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to prepare taking over the security of central prisons across the country. The matter has also been discussed during recent high-level meetings, CNN-News18 has learnt.
CISF, a paramilitary force with a current strength of over 1.5 lakh personnel, that primarily secures airports in the country other than some vital installations, is at present in-charge of securing two central jails in the country. There are a total of 148 central jails in India at present.
In October last year, the CISF took over the security of the Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), another paramilitary force. This was the second prison of Jammu and Kashmir to be secured by the CISF after it took over the security of Srinagar Central jail the same month, following an MHA order issued on September 22, 2023.
Srinagar and Kot Bhalwal jails of Jammu and Kashmir are very sensitive as several high-profile terrorists and criminals are lodged in these jails. There are over 900 prisoners in Kot Bhalwal and more than 500 in Srinagar jail.
Officials in MHA told CNN-News18 that the security takeover of other central jails is also expected to begin with the remaining jails of Jammu and Kashmir.
“CISF has been asked to prepare for this role. They already are securing two sensitive central jails and may soon take over the security of other prisons as well. The takeover is expected to begin from the state of J&K,” said an official, requesting not to be named.
The decision can be seen as a development in the wake of rising number of violence, the gangster-terrorists nexus and corruption that is commonly reported from jails in India.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in the year 2022, a total of 45 incidents of violence were reported from jails across the country in which 106 inmates were injured along with nine jail staff. One inmate was killed this year in violence inside jail.
However, in the year 2021, the number of total persons injured in violence inside jails was limited to 70, that included 66 inmates and 4 staff members. The total number of incidents reported was only 63 in 2021 in which four deaths were reported.
Other than violence, multiple videos and audio clips are often widely circulated on social media wherein jailed gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi, Neeraj Bawania, Naveen Bali and others are seen using cell phones, making video calls, enjoying music, food, drinks, using social media and roaming around freely even in their high security barracks.
These gangsters are then often seen claiming responsibilities for killings and extortions orchestrated by them through their henchmen outside jails on the command of their mastermind running such syndicates from countries like Canada, Portugal, Dubai, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Moreover, cases like that of Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a conman who extorted Rs 200 crore from a jailed businessman’s wife while himself being lodged in jail, and then bribing jail officials to get CCTVs tampered and special facilities for himself, have also reflected upon the magnitude of corruption that is prevalent in prisons across the country.
The total number of prisons in India increased from 1,319 in 2021 to 1,330 in 2022.
These include 148 central jails, 574 sub jails, 428 district jails, 91 open jails, 42 special jails, 34 women jails, 10 borstal schools and 3 jails other than these.
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