‘Current state of affairs at Tihar shows management is going downhill’

Rise in incidents of violence could be attributed to deputation of incompetent officers, lack of accountability and negligence, says prison expert

Tihar Jail, which houses some of the most dreaded criminals in the country, has been in the news over the past few months for all the wrong reasons. Incidents of inmate violence, prison officials conniving in running extortion rackets, and killings of undertrials purportedly at the hands of jail staff are rampant in the Capital’s maximum-security prison. In this backdrop, Sunil Gupta, author and a prison expert, who has served as a law officer and spokesperson at Tihar Jail for almost four decades, speaks to The Hindu about what ails the jail administration and if there is a better way to tackle the situation.