Bihar planning 93 additional wards to decongest overcrowded prisons

Birpur sub-jail is the most crowded in Bihar with the number of inmates almost 3.5 times the capacity. Madhepura district jail too has inmates nearly three times its capacity

Bihar’s prisons are bulging at the seams due to growing number of inmates and the prison department wants to develop 93 extra wards in 21 jails across the state to deal with the problem, which became even mpronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic with most jails housing more than their capacity. 44 of the 59 prisons in the state currently have more inmates than their capacity, as per official data.

Buxar Central jail in Bihar has 1,709 prisoners against the sanctioned capacity of 1,126. (Photo Courtesy- PTI)

The total capacity of prisons in the state is 46,669, while the number of inmates has gone past 62,823 till August 30, as per official data.

The number of inmates in prisons at Barh, Bhabua, Sitamarhi, Jamui, Aurangabad, Saran, Sherghati, Madhepura is double their capacity, while it is significantly higher than capacity in Patna, Buxar, Muzaffarpur and Purnea, the data said.

Birpur sub-jail is the most crowded in the state with the number of inmates being almost 3.5 times the capacity. Madhepura district jail too has inmates nearly three times the capacity.

A senior official said that pendency of cases and bail matters increased due to disruptions caused in functioning of courts due to Covid-19 pandemic, which has contributed to the pressure on jails. This year alone, over 6,000 inmates were added, taking the number of prisoners to 56,424 in April and 61,362, including 2,278 women, in July.

In Patna’s Beur Model Prison, the number of inmates has reached 4,233 against the capacity of 2,360, while Buxar Central jail has 1,709 prisoners against the sanctioned capacity of 1,126, and Muzaffarpur Central jail has 3,415 inmates against the sanctioned strength of 2,135. Other Central prisons are also in no better condition. Purnea has 1,853 prisoners against the capacity of 1,198, Motihari has 2,782 inmates against the capacity of 2,503, Gaya has 2,714 against the sanctioned capacity of 2,606 and Bhagalpur has 2,171 against the capacity of 1962.

Bhagalpur special Central jail is the only prison with fewer inmates (1,678) than the sanctioned capacity (3,288).

Mithilesh Mishra, inspector general (IG) (prisons) said that in view of the growing pressure, the proposal for 93 additional wards in 21 jails, including eight central jails, has been sent to the government. “Once the new wards are ready, the pressure will ease,” he added.

Prachi Pallavi, an advocate at the Patna high court, said that the Supreme Court, while dealing with the health crisis in prisons and remand homes due to the pandemic, had in March last year directed for constitution of a High-Powered Committee (HPC) comprising of chairman of the State Legal Services Committee, the principal secretary (home) and the director general (DG) of prison(s), to determine which class of persons could be released on parole or an interim bail for such period as may be thought appropriate. Though Bihar was quick to form the committee for compliance the very next day, the objective of the exercise to release prisoners for decongesting prisons could not be achieved.

“As a matter of fact, the state of Bihar has the second highest number of undertrial prisoners as per the report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) and there is an urgent need for safety mechanisms in the prisons of Bihar, which requires less crowding as a prerequisite. The best way is to release prisoners who can be released,” Pallavi said.