4.83 lakh Indians in jail up to 2020-end, less than one-fourth convicts, government data shows

As many as 4.83 lakh Indian nationals were lodged across the country's jails by end of 2020, of which over 76 per cent were undertrials while 23 per cent were convicts, according to new government data.

Another 3,549 (or less than one per cent) of prison inmates across the country were detenues, revealed the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB's) annual 'Prison Statistics India 2020'.

The report noted that there were also 4,926 prisoners of foreign origin who were lodged across jails in the country by the 2020 end.

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The majority of undertrial prisoners lodged in jails were in the 18-30 years age group, while most of the convicts were in the 30-50 age group, the report stated.

Of the total inmates, 1.11 lakh (23.04 per cent) were convicts, 3.68 lakh (76.17 per cent) were under-trials and 3,549 (0.73 per cent) detenues, it stated.

Of the 4.83 lakh inmates, 96 per cent were males, 3.98 per cent were females and 0.01 per cent transgenders (70), according to the NCRB, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Among states, Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of inmates (1.06 lakh) followed by Bihar (51,849) and Madhya Pradesh (45,456), accounting for 22.1 per cent, 10.7 per cent, 9.4 per cent of the total inmates, respectively, it stated.

Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populated state, also lodged the highest number of convicted prisoners (26,607) followed by Madhya Pradesh (13,641) and Bihar (7,730) accounting for 23.9 per cent, 12.2 per cent, 6.9 per cent of the total convicts, respectively.

The majority of convicts were in the age group 30-50 years (49.9 per cent) (55,653) followed by 18-30 years (28.7 per cent, 31,935) and 50 years and above (21.4 per cent, 23,856), the report stated.

In terms of undertrials, Uttar Pradesh had lodged the highest number of prisoners (80,267) followed by Bihar (44,113) and Madhya Pradesh (31,695) accounting for 21.8 per cent, 12 per cent and 8.6 per cent of the total under-trials, it noted.

The majority of undertrials were in the age group 18-30 years (48.8 per cent, 1.79 lakh) followed by 30-50 years (40.6 per cent, 1.49 lakh) and 50 years and above (10.6 per cent, 39,136), the NCRB data stated.

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