Three injured in firing in Uttar Pradesh’s Khoda, four held

GHAZIABAD: In an apparent case of road rage, four persons opened fire after their car was involved in an accident in Khoda area of Ghaziabad district injuring three persons, police said on Monday. The four assailants were arrested.

Police said the four accused were travelling in a car, which hit one of the victims. As locals came to the injured person’s rescue, one of the accused opened fire at the crowd. NEW DELHI: Tihar has often been considered more of a correctional home and less of a jail. And with every stride, it is moving steadily towards realising the same. DG (Prisons) Sudhir Yadav in an exclusive interview to Millennium Post speaks to Zafar Abbas about how soon Tihar will have an Open Prison, how it feels to house high-profile convicts and much more. Excerpts:

Q: Tihar is known more as a correctional institution rather than a simple prison. What steps are taken to ensure the same? A: Tihar has always been a correction home, a reformation centre. I think the inmates of Tihar, the staff, the NGOS working for the betterment of the inmates together with society are all participants in it. Reformation can never happen single-handedly. Society always has a bigger role to play. The inmates should be given a chance in the world outside the jail premises. Q: As DG (Prisons), what steps have you taken for the reformation of the inmates? Did you carry forward from where your predecessors left or do you have some other plans up your sleeves? A: I feel, improvement should never be stagnant. Rather, it should be a continuous process. It might sound new but we are working on the idea of an Open Prison in which some selected inmates, who fulfill the criteria, would be even allowed to work outside the jail premises in the real world. Earlier, we didn’t have inmates who matched the criteria but now, we have some. Q: By floating the idea of an Open Prison, do you mean some inmates could step out in the real world for jobs and then return to their barracks? A: Yes, those inmates who have almost served their sentences could be allowed to work in semi-open prisons first, that means they could roam about anywhere within the jail premise. Later, they might be allowed to take up jobs outside the jail premise in the real world and return. Q: Do you feel the pressure when you have high-profile accused or convicts from other states like Shabuddin? A: Absolutely not. He is simply one of the inmates and we follow our lodging policy seriously. Post, status and position have no meaning in Tihar. However, security is of paramount importance. We make sure neither they should be a threat to any inmate nor should any inmate be a threat to them. Q: Isn’t the jail overcrowded with the Q: There are also women in the jail with small children. How does Tihar take care of these children? A: We have a crèche for children of inmates till six years of age where trained staff take proper care of them. For the women, we have knitting, weaving and several other activities to keep them busy. Q: Sometimes spending years in confinement can have adverse physical and mental effects on inmates. How do you combat these? A: Well, we have cultural and creative activities to engage the inmates. We have drama clubs, Yoga, sport activities, painting classes and above all, good music.