Many overcrowded Bihar jails have double or more than double prisoner capacity

Following the debate surrounding the release of gangster Anand Mohan, it has been learnt that Bihar prisons have nearly 30% more prisoners than they should be housing.

Amid a raging debate over the release of 27 convicted prisoners in Bihar, the latest figures released by the state home department underscore the need for decongesting 59 jails where nearly 62,000 inmates are currently lodged.

The figures uploaded by the state home department on its website till March 31 pegged the capacity of 59 jails, including eight central prisons, at 47,750.

However, 61,891 prisoners are languishing in these prisons. This means the prisons have nearly 30% more prisoners than they should be housing.

The worst hit is Jamui district jail, where 822 inmates are occupying a space meant for 188 prisoners, implying more than four-times the number are being penned in this jail.

According to sources in the home department, the Jamui district jail is one of the 38 prisons which is housing double or more than its sanctioned capacity of inmates.

Officials said they were pointing to these statistics to merely underscore the need for reforms in prison management and said the much maligned order to allow remission of sentences to prisoners who have served more than 14 years in jail was one such.

The release of gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh from Saharsa jail on Thursday which has attracted much criticism from the opposition is one such case permitted under a jail sentence remission order after the State government recently amended prison rules allowing the early release of 27 convicts including him.