Tihar seems to be for 3,468 inmates gone ‘missing’ whereas on Covid parole

Of the 6,740 prisoners at Tihar Jail who have been launched on parole final 12 months within the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, 3,468 have gone “missing”. Jail authorities have now approached the Delhi Police to assist hint them.
Most of the convicts and undertrial prisoners struggling diseases akin to HIV, most cancers, kidney dysfunction requiring dialysis, Hepatitis B or C, bronchial asthma and TB have been launched final 12 months to decongest the jail as Covid instances rose. Tihar, with a cumulative capability of holding 10,026 inmates, is among the largest jail complexes in South Asia.
Sources stated that of these launched, 1,184 have been convicted inmates let loose of Delhi’s three jails, at Tihar, Mandoli, Rohini. “They were initially released for eight weeks, which was later extended from time to time. They were finally supposed to surrender between February 7 and March 6. But out of 1,184, 112 are missing. When jail officials approached their family members, they were told that they were not present at their homes,” jail sources stated.
Of the undertrial prisoners, solely round 2,200 of the 5,556 launched on interim bail have returned. “The process to surrender started on March 6 this year and they were asked to surrender by the end of March,” sources in Tihar jail stated.

All states had constituted high-powered committees to put down standards for the discharge of convicted and undertrial prisoners to decongest jails following a Supreme Court suggestion in March final 12 months. Following this, states launched inmates on bail for 30-60 days. For Delhi, the committee was headed by Delhi High Court choose Justice Hima Kohli. It additionally included then Delhi authorities Principal Secretary (Home)/Additional Chief Secretary Satya Gopal and Tihar Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel.

Asked in regards to the “missing” prisoners, DG Goel stated, “We have shared a list of UTPs (undertrial prisoners) and convicts who have not surrendered with the Delhi Police. Some UTPs are still surrendering and some might have obtained regular bails from courts, which is being ascertained.”
Data supplied by the Tihar jail authorities present that as of Wednesday, the jail had 67 energetic instances amongst jail inmates and 11 amongst jail employees, together with a jail superintendent and two jail medical doctors. “Currently there are around 20,000 prisoners in Tihar. Till date, 174 inmates and 300 staff have tested positive. Last week, the Tihar jail administration decided to cancel meetings between prisoners and their family members till further orders, following the surge of Covid-19 cases in Delhi,” an official stated.