Gorakhpur district jail’s only women’s barrack overcrowded

More than thrice the number allowed housed it right now; new barrack yet to be completed even after 3 yrs of construction starting

At the Gorakhpur district jail, as many as 130 women prisoners have been housed in a single women’s barrack that has a capacity of 40 inmates.

For representation only (HT File Photo)

Senior superintendent district jail OP Katiyar said that the women’s barrack was overcrowded and an increasing number of female prisoners had compounded the problem. He said that the jail authorities had proposed an additional barrack, and construction began three years ago. However, that work is yet to be completed and he blamed the construction agency for the delay.

In reply to a question, he said that the district jail authorities had written a letter to higher authorities to hand over the additional barrack as soon as possible.

Sources said the state government had sanctioned ₹99 lakh for the construction of additional barrack which was to be completed in 2021 but was not ready even after one year of the deadline.

So bad is the housing problem of women inmates at the Gorakhpur district jail that authorities were using the women’s hospital of the district jail to house female prisoners, Katiyar said.

Another jail official Pradeep Kashyap, elaborating on the reasons for increasing the number of female prisoners, said that most women were in jail for their role with their spouses in manufacturing and trading in illicit liquor. He said a few women accused in the murders of their husbands were also in jail from the past two to three years.

The UP police is using drone cameras to find out the den of manufacturing of spurious liquor. Police and excise department along with administrative machinery are carrying out raids in areas spotted for manufacturing of illicit liquor and its sale.

Following the directive of divisional commissioner Ravi Kumar Ng, the drive has been intensified.

Abdur Rahman