Delhi prison reorganisation: Men to Mandoli, women to Tihar

The plan was initiated after a review of inmate distribution and infrastructure was done earlier this month.

Delhi prison authorities are planning to shut down Mandoli jail’s women cell and transfer all female inmates to Tihar jail’s women facility, jail authorities said. In turn, some male inmates from Tihar will be shifted to Mandoli to fix the overcrowding issue.

(Photo for representation)

As per the proposal, Mandoli prison’s central jail number 16 and Tihar’s jail numbers 16 and 6 — all women’s cells — are currently operating below capacity, so the shifting will not raise a problem.

Further, Tihar’s jail number 4 — the men’s cell — has a capacity of 900 inmates but is currently operating with 4,000 inmates. Tihar administration officials said the jail is overcrowded because most new undertrials are sent to jail number 4.

The plan was initiated after a review of inmate distribution and infrastructure was done earlier this month.

“An administrative audit found Mandoli’s women’s jail under-occupied. There are less than 250 inmates inside the Mandoli women cell which can host more than 500 inmates. Inside Tihar’s women’s facility, there are 400 prisoners while it has a capacity to hold more than 600 inmates. Under the proposed plan, female inmates at Mandoli would be moved to jail number 6,” a senior prison department official told HT.

Prison officials noted that Tihar’s women jail has sufficient capacity to accommodate the additional inmates without exceeding sanctioned limits. “The merger is intended to streamline operations and focus on rehabilitation programmes in a single location for women.”

Overall, Delhi prisons face a significant overcrowding, with the three complexes — Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini — holding far more inmates than their capacity. As per jail officials, over 20,000 inmates are currently present in all three jails which have a combined capacity of only 10,500 inmates.

Another officer said the plan is yet to be enforced but an order will be issued soon. “ This merger will only help address overcrowding and staff can then be deployed more efficiently. This will also enhance rehabilitation opportunities such as vocational and skill-training programmes, by concentrating resources rather than spreading them across multiple sites,” he said.