E-Paper
Chandigarh has second-most convicts serving life sentence among UTs
Those serving life sentences constitute 33.2% of the total convicts lodged in Burail jail
Chandigarh has the second-highest number of convicts serving life sentence among Union Territories after Delhi.
As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, there are 134 convicts serving life term lodged in Chandigarh’s Model Jail, also called Burail Jail.
Delhi, with 1,288, has the most, followed by Chandigarh, then Puducherry with 48, Daman and Diu has 13, while Dandra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep have none.
Those serving life sentence constitute 33.2% of the total convicts lodged in Burail Jail.
As per NCRB data, maximum undertrials have to spend up to two year in jail as detention period in jail. There are 182 such undertrials lodged in Burail Jail, which constitutes 31.4% of the total undertrials lodged here.
More outsiders lodged in jail
Burail jail had 984 inmates lodged on its premises as per data recorded in December 2019, comprising 580 under trials and 404 convicts. As per the NCRB data, majority of them are from outside Chandigarh.
Of the 404 convicts, including 16 women, lodged at Burail Jail as on December 31, 2019, only 228 were from Chandigarh, while 172 belonged to other states and the remaining four were from other countries.
Similarly, of the 580 undertrials, including 33 women, only 332 were residents of Chandigarh, while 234 were from other states and 14 from other countries.
5th among states, UTs in granting pardon
As per the data, 1,079 convicts were released in India in 2019 after being granted pardon. Chandigarh, with eight convicts, is in the fifth position among states and UTs in terms of pardoned convicts.
Maximum such releases were reported from Uttar Pradesh (890), followed by Gujarat (126), Rajasthan (25), Uttarakhand (16), Chandigarh (eight), Bihar (six), Punjab (four), Odisha (two), Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir (one each).
Also, two convicts are lodged in the jail despite completion of term due to non-payment of fine. They have to be lodged for less than six months due to the non-payment.
