Tihar’s ‘TJ’ shirts to get a Sanjana Jon makeover

While her brother Anand Jon is languishing in an American jail and serving a 59-year sentence, Indian-American fashion designer Sanjana Jon is helping Tihar Jail’s inmates improve the quality and cut of the jail’s branded—TJ’s—cotton shirts.

While her brother Anand Jon is languishing in an American jail and serving a 59-year sentence, Indian-American fashion
designer Sanjana Jon is helping Tihar Jail’s inmates improve the quality and cut of the jail’s branded—TJ’s—cotton shirts.

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Anand Jon was sentenced to jail for allegedly preying upon seven young aspiring models as young as 14 and sexually assaulting them.

The jail’s branded Rs 200-a-piece cotton shirts in light colours (white, pale white, sky blue, cream and yellow) have wowed buyers at many trade fairs held here in the city.

Sanjana Jon, who runs her own fashion firm, has offered the Tihar Jail administration her “help in improving the design and quality of the TJ shirt,” according to Director General (prisons) BK Gupta. The help, in the form of Jon’s shirt/apparel designers, came two days ago.

“Over the last two days, Jon’s designers have been training our inmates to improve the standard and patterns of these shirts,” said Gupta.

A team of around 230-odd inmates, including murder/robbery convicts, produce the TJ shirts. These inmates are housed at Jail number 2 at Tihar in the ‘Weaving’ and ‘Tailoring Section’.

These 230-odd inmates have been multi-tasking till now: Along with the shirts, they produce durries (mattresses) and carpets. The inmates get between Rs 42 and Rs 65 per day for their day’s labour at the factories.

A jail source said Sanjana Jon empathizes with prisoners and wanted to help in their rehabilitation.