105 Maoists are among the 298 prisoners who have escaped from Dantewada prison in Chhattisgarh. The prisoners used rods and bricks to overpower guards. The BBC also adds some cliched details to the story, pointing out the vicious nature of Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh. Though Maoists are a menace yet in this case we should focus also on the prison system in our country. Prisons are overcrowded, unhygienic; the lives of the inmates are monotonous and horrifying.

On the administrative side, the guards to prisoners’ ratio is very low and the former are underpaid, overworked and have few holidays. This leads to tension between prisoners and guards. Resentment and corruption are thus high. Because of the political failure to carry out systematic reforms, such breakouts happen. And politicians could not care less for the jailed. After all, the prisoners do not have the right to vote. Thus they do not matter to our hawkish leaders.

This daring escape is doubly alarming. The escaped Maoists will now regroup and join their brothers in hiding. The sudden swell in their ranks will invariably provoke new waves of violence. This will not be confined to only Chhattisgarh but since the Maoist-Naxalite network is pan-Indian; guerrilla activities will increase in states like West Bengal, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. Also this prison-break will encourage other prisoners throughout the country to attempt such breakouts. Our streets will once again be filled with perverts of every sort.

To prevent such escapades in the future we need to take the following steps:

a) Following the cue of the IPS Kiran Bedi, our government needs to revamp prison life. Prisoners have sub-human existences inside gaols. They do not have proper sanitary, washing, reading and entertainment facilities. The jails are more torture facilities than correctional facilities. There has to be more transparency in the running of prisons on the part of senior bureaucrats.

b) The prison system cannot be improved unless the lives of the prison officials improve. They receive little pay and have to sometimes work under the directions of the political mafia. Guards are thus always stressed and sometimes naturally succumb to baser impulses. Monetary corruption and physical abuse thus become the only consolation for some. As the criminal feels penalized in this stifling atmosphere, the police serving there too feel burdened with the futility of their high risk jobs. Jail police should also be allowed to serve in normal-life situations. This way the monotony of their lives will be broken. More guards need to be inducted into the police ranks. The government’s policy of freezing recruitment in various posts is ruining the administration-process.

c) Most posts of judges are lying vacant. Thus cases are taking very long to resolve. Under trials are crowding the jails; making living conditions unbearable. These posts need to filled up fast.

This jail-break should act as an eye-opener to the government and not merely another opportunity to condemn the prisoners. Mere suspension of cops for dereliction of duty, as has been done here, will not help. The State Government has suspended DIG (Jail), PD Verma and the Deputy jailer, BS Mankar. Only 3 escaped prisoners have been caught so far.

Via: BBC

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