Seen as ‘blood money’, Tihar’s welfare fund shunned by families

NEW DELHI: This welfare fund has found few takers in eight years.

Of the ₹13.5 crore earmarked for the victims of crimes committed by convicted prisoners, only around 5% of the money has been disbursed so far. Tihar Jail officials have built this corpus by deducting 25% of daily wages earned by all convicts. While jail officials continue to deduct the money from prisoners’ wages daily, they have given out only around ₹64 lakh(4.74%) till date.

The problem, jail officials say, is finding victims or their families. And if they find victims, it is difficult to convince them to take the money because most families the officials approach refuse to take the compensation because they see it as “blood money”.

The idea was born in 2010. The plan was to award a sort of compensation to rape survivors, families who have lost bread earners to murder and other such cases. The money is saved in the account of a jail superintendent.

A convict, working as a skilled worker such as carpenter, tailor or painter, earns a maximum of ₹321 every day. There are at least 2,800 convicts of the 15,000 prisoners in Tihar.

Director general (prisons), Ajay Kashyap, said prison authorities have written to the government to change some parameters to ensure that officials can get to more victims. “We have suggested that a DIG rank jail officer be authorised to identify the victims. Currently, this is done by a deputy commissioner, who is not posted in prison. Such a prison official is best placed to track down the families because he or she has closely interacted with the convict.”

The prisons chief said he had suggested the fund be merged with the money that is given by the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) under the aegis of the Delhi government. “They are well versed with each case. In cases, when trial takes years, the DLSA can decide on interim compensation so that the victim’s family gets immediate relief.”