To survive in battlefield Tihar, prisoners rely on ‘Gandhi’

CASH SEIZURES Lakhs of rupees and thousands of dollars have been seized from prisoners in the central jail, where a ` 500 note is referred to as ‘Gandhi’

It isn’t easy to miss Mahatma Gandhi in Tihar. Murals, statues and Gandhi’s messages of non-violence are painted across all the nine jails. The library has books on Gandhi and his photograph is neatly framed in the walls behind every jail superintendent’s desk.

But in this 200-acre complex, there are only a few who ‘sincerely want to read his books’ and walk the path of reformation. His peace message on the walls fail to make a mark when surgical blades are used to slash another’s neck.

But every time, when lights are switched off, away from the glare of prison guards when prisoners retreat to their cells, ‘Gandhi’ is a priced possession. In prison language, a 500 rupee note is referred to as Gandhi. “A hundred rupee note has no value inside and so there is no code name for it. Anyone who has a Gandhi has an edge over the others,” a former prisoner says. And there is no dearth of ‘Gandhi’ there.

Regular seizures of stashes of cash belie public perception that prisoners don’t have money during their stay in the jail.

Till July this year, the jail authorities had recovered around ` 96,000 in cash and 5,600 US dollars from prison- ers. A large sum of this seized money was recovered at the deodi (gate inside prison). Most of this amount was received by prisoners when they go outside for court appearance. The police unit which transfers prisoners from the jail to the court and back also recovered another ` 56,000 and 2,500 US dollars from those who had managed to get it inside court lock-ups.

“To buy tobacco, mobile phones or food from the jail canteen, prisoners need money. A few corrupt jail guards are ready to provide anything for a fee. They know jammers don’t work properly so they want mobile phones and are ready to pay the corrupt guards. Some want to talk to their girlfriends, others need to run their illegal activities from inside the prison. This year, the jail authorities have seized more than 80 cell phones from inside the jail,” said a senior officer.

On Monday, director general Alok Verma dismissed an assistant superintendent and three wardens for allegedly smuggling mobile phones and tobacco, among other banned items. This year, over 40 jail officials have been punished on similar charges. A senior officer said that Monday’s dismissal of an assistant superintendent-rank officer is a strong message to the corrupt.

“There are five layers of checking and smuggling is impossible unless corrupt officials work in collusion with prisoners. So, we change guards regularly and also ensure they do not get away with any wrongdoing,” an officer said.

The smuggled money is also used to buy talk time on the sim cards used inside. “For one ‘Gandhi’, you get a two and half caps of tobacco (caps of soft drink bottles are used as measures for tobacco in Tihar). In many cases, the money is used to get one surgical blade — a potent weapon in the hands of gangsters. One can buy almost everything if he manages to smuggle a ‘ Gandhi’ inside,” another prisoner said.