BENGALURU: Several prisons in Karnataka have closed down for various reasons, including the lack of sufficient number of inmates, shortage of staff and improper utilisation of resources. According to official data, at least 15 out of 28 sub-jails in the districts have been ‘temporarily’ shut down, and out of 44 revenue jails, only six are said to be working.
The taluk sub-jails at Tiptur in Tumakuru district; Arsikere and Sakleshpur in Hassan district; Virajpet in Madikeri district; Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district; Kaddur, Tharikere and NR Pura in Chikkamagaluru district; Yellapura in Karwar district; Sagar in Shivamogga district; Ballahongala in Belagavi district; Badami in Bagalkote district; Aland in Kalaburagi district; Devadurga in Raichur district and Gangavathi in Koppal district have been shut down.
Speaking to TNSE, official sources said the closure of the sub-jails and revenue prisons was temporary and they can be closed for good only under government orders. “The decision to temporarily close some non-functional sub-jails and revenue prisons has been taken to streamline prison administration. It is difficult to manage and supervise a sporadic population of prisoners in various small jails. The prisoners have been placed in bigger and better-managed prisons with better infrastructure and manpower. The use of technology like video conferencing for court trials has helped in the placement of prisoners in bigger prisons. Many sub-jails in the districts are old colonial structures. They are dilapidated and have run out of use,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.
As of May 28, there are 15,026 prisoners in Karnataka, of which 10,760 are under-trial (UT) prisoners, 4,249 are convicts, four are civil prisoners and 13 detainees.
Like anywhere else in the country, a majority of the prisoners in Karnataka are under-trial prisoners and officials are trying to segregate them from convicts. A planned high-security prison in Bengaluru will have separate cells for UTs and convicts. A `110 crore central prison in Hassan has already been tendered and work on it is shortly going to start. The recruitment of 32 jailors and 995 wardens, who received training in police training institutes, will help beef up the prison staff and fill up the long-pending vacancies.