Jorhat, July 14: Dispur is planning to set up two all-women jails in Upper and lower Assam under phase II of the modernisation of prisons programme of the Centre.
Assam minister for social welfare and prisons Akon Bora told The Telegraph that the primary objective of the plan was to provide a safer and more secure environment to women prisoners, as all staff, including the jailor and the superintendent, would be women.
The security guards outside the jail premises would, however, be men from Assam police, he said, adding that like in other prisons, they would be confined to their quarters outside the area housing the cells.
“We are planning to open the jails in two different parts of the state, as having only one will make it difficult for family members to meet the inmates,” Bora said, adding that his department was examining probable locations for the prisons and Jorhat in Upper Assam and Barpeta in lower Assam were being considered. The final decision would be taken soon, Bora added.
He said once the locations were selected, the concerned district administrations would search for appropriate plots and subsequently prepare plan estimates. “We hope to take up the project in the next financial year (2014-15).”
Whether only women convicts will be lodged in the proposed jails or even under-trials will be accommodated is yet to be decided. Bora said in certain cases, it would not be possible to lodge an undertrial if the trial court was located in some other district.
The minister said the process of installing closed-circuit television in jails across the state was on and would be executed phase-wise. He said the process of tender submission for the same had started.
There are 32 big and small jails in the state — six central, 21 district and the rest sub-jails. In March this year, an Assam Assembly committee headed by lawyer and sitting Congress legislator Abdul Muhib Mazumdar had recommended construction of more jails in the state and installation of CCTV cameras in the existing ones to keep an eye on the inmates.
Inspector-general of police (prisons) P.P. Baruah told this correspondent that even after the two proposed prisons were constructed, another would be required for Barak valley, which is equally distant from both lower and Upper Assam. Baruah said Silchar might be selected for the purpose.
Home department sources said the government had set up an all-women’s prison, Nari Sadan, within the Barpeta district jail premises in the early eighties. It had a different entrance and was managed by the district jail authorities.
The jail was, however, closed down in 1995 after Supreme Court-appointed commissioner Gopal Subramaniam visited it and recommended its closure as he was “dissatisfied” with its functioning.
statistics
Total number of prisoners in Assam: 8000, (Till April 2013)
Registered capacity: 7485
Women inmates: 290
Children living with mothers: Over 30