The hotel employs 700 Tihar Jail inmates, 1,200 of whom are about to get jobs at the hospital

The warden said 700 prisoners had found jobs in the hotel industry. (Representative image)

New Delhi:

Sanjay Baniwal, Director General of Tihar Jail, said that around 700 prisoners have been given employment and another 1,200 prisoners are undergoing job training in various departments after their release from jail.

During an interaction with editors at the Press Trust of India headquarters on Monday, Baniwal, a 1989-batch IPS officer, said he was happy to see prisoners getting jobs after completing their sentences.

Mr. Beniwal, who served as DGP of Chandigarh, was appointed as DG of Tihar from November 2022.

Replying to a question on Tihar jail reforms, Mr. Baniwal said, “We have started a skill development program inside the jail with the help of the Urban Development Department. Under this scheme, around 700 prisoners are in the hotel sector and 1,200 are undergoing training to find a job in a hospital.”

According to prison officials, infrastructure for training of Under Trial Prisoners (UTP) is provided within the prison. The program launches in early 2023.

Mr Baniwal said providing skills and empowerment to prisoners was what made them valuable.

“I see the smile and the twinkle in their eyes when they get their certificates and provide letters of employment,” he said.

Replying to a question about overcrowding in Tihar jails, Mr. Baniwal said that adding more jails was not the solution to the problem. The prison’s authorized capacity is 10,000, but it currently holds 20,000 prisoners.

Delhi has three prison complexes – Tihar Jail, Rohini Jail and Mandoli Jail – all of which comprise the Central Jail.

Maybe we can look for other options or better ways to punish, at least punish those who break the law, he said.

He gave the example of a young man who was recently arrested for pickpocketing Rs 300 and taken to Tihar. He stayed here for five months before being released on bail.

“I spend Rs 800 per prisoner per day, which is equivalent to about Rs 24,000 per month for us. For a theft penalty of Rs 300, I have spent about Rs 1,20,000 of your money (treasury) in five months. Is that right? That’s it. The questions we need to ask,” Mr. Baniwal said.

He said the proposed Narela jail in Delhi will cost us around Rs 170 crore to house 250 prisoners and it is an expensive affair.

Tihar Jail Superintendent said that the current Model Provisions Act in prisons does provide for the power to wear anklets to track the whereabouts of prisoners who have been placed on leave.

“Why can’t we do something for those who are sent to Tihar by not arresting those who are guilty of certain crimes as mentioned in the Arnesh Kumar verdict. Of course, you It’s possible to geofence their activities at home, in court or at work so you can stay safe. “But that’s my personal opinion, and maybe I’m wrong,” he said.

Talking about privatizing prisons like foreign countries, Baniwal said that despite privatization, American prisons are still quite crowded.

“The US has far more arrests per 100,000 people than India. Privatization of prisons depends entirely on the situation and management in the country,” he said.

Talking about the facilities and infrastructure of the jail, Baniwal said that under the Correctional Management, officials work very hard to change the emotional footprint and mental vibration of the prisoners.

“We do spirituality classes, meditation and targeted exercises for prisoners who are forced to drag but end up feeling guilty as they have done in the past. I have many examples where they have written about their mistakes, And said they would never commit a crime “whenever they get out of prison,” he said.

“I plan to set up a ‘post-release care center’ where we will follow them after they get out of prison,” he said.

Baniwal said the prisoners do celebrate every festival and participate in national events inside the prison so that they cannot escape reality.

“We try to make their lives as normal as possible. Many don’t have visitors because their families live far away, and we have a facility called the Sparse Program where we give them hugs and sometimes gifts,” He said.

Mr Baniwal said he met the prisoners, listened to their problems and tried to solve their problems.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)