Government To Upgrade Jails After Mallya’s Comments Embarrasses Them

After the fugitive liquor baron, Vijay Mallya had claimed that the Indian jails were not up to the mark, the government had decided to upgrade.

Stung by the remarks, the authorities are to set up a new block of jail cells that will meet the international standard norms.

In the Arthur Road Jail, an old ground & a structure is to be demolished to make way for the new block of cells. The building is expected to be ready in 6 months and to accommodate fugitive millionaires who face fraud trails.

It is currently a trend among the millionaire fugitives to claim ‘poor jail conditions’ to avoid extradition to India.

CONDITION OF JAIL CELLS

“The cells will meet European and UK prison standards and all human rights criteria. The public works department has started work and received quotations for the demolition of the building,” an official said.

“As of now, we have limited cells that meet global standards. So we are going to build more modern cells for extradited smugglers, fraudsters and accused hiding abroad,” he said.

“There will only be a specific number of prisoners in these cells. They will be clean, have hygienic toilets, enough sun and light and space to move around,” added the officer.

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At the moment, the high profile prisoners cells in the Arthur Road Jail have been refurbished with fans, TV and water jet commodes.

Like almost all Indian jails, the 93-year-old jail is chronically overcrowded with few facilities for prisoners’ well-being. Built for some 800 prisoners, at any given time it houses around 2,800.

It is not only Mallya who has been under the Indian authorities’ scanner, but diamantaires Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are too cited as fugitives.

Since the fight for these fugitives will play out in foreign courts, global human rights standards including rules that apply to imprisonment, rights of detainees, the condition of jails, etc will have to be met. In UK jails, for instance, prisoners are entitled to protection from bullying and racial harassment, healthcare on a par with other citizens, and outing for up to an hour in the open air every day.