Hardened criminals lodged in Tihar for minor crimes can be shifted to other jails: DG

The DG said he has written to the Delhi government saying there is a need to shift undertrial prisoners to other jails.

New Delhi: To prevent overcrowding and violence among inmates in Delhi's Tihar jail, Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Baniwal has pitched for shifting hardened criminals from outside Delhi who are lodged in the high-security jail for committing minor crimes here to other prisons.

In an interview with PTI, the senior officer, who assumed the charge of DG(Prisons) in 2022, said he has written to the Delhi government saying there is a need to shift undertrial prisoners to other jails.

"For instance, there are many hardcore criminals who have committed major crimes outside Delhi but then come to the national capital and commit a minor crime here and are then lodged in Tihar. This is an awkward thing.... We are already dealing with overcrowding and they have no business to be here and yet they are here," Baniwal said.

Delhi has three prison complexes -- Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini.

He also said that court production via video-conference will prevent prisoners from mingling with each other and forming gangs in jails.

"There will be occasions where prisoners may encounter others despite high-security measures in place. Although efforts are made to keep them separated, during court appearances, they converge at the entrance point and travel in the same van, thus increasing their chances of interaction," he said.

He said that some are those who have a tendency of planning their escape, thus making it challenging for the authorities.

"It is for these reasons, video conferencing has been suggested as a better alternative. In fact, the high court recently endorsed the use of video conferencing for court appearances, witness examinations, e-filing, and virtual meetings with lawyers," he added.

Last year in May, gangster Tillu Tajpuriya was killed by four assailants inside Tihar jail, and videos of the brutal killing had emerged showing the accused climbing down from the first floor using bed sheets to execute the act.

"We have started regular training for our personnel in anti-riot gear on how to handle a mob of inmates. During the killing of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya, the attackers had used a knife against one of our security personnel."

"Our officials are not allowed to carry weapons inside, while dealing with the prisoners," he said.

He said around 1,200 mobile phones were seized from inmates of jails in Delhi last year, and pitched for adopting modern technology during their frisking.