Tasty food in jail lures poor youths to petty crimes in Bihar

PATNA: Some youths in Kaimur district are committing petty crimes to get tasty food in jail! It was revealed on Saturday when one Guddu Musahar (25) was arrested on Saturday in connection with a theft in the house of Chandrashekhar Kumar at Thilaui under Karamchat police station in Kaimur district.
Guddu told the police that many members of his gang belonged to poor families and were unable to make ends meet.
Kaimur SP Dilnawaz Ahmad said on Sunday that seven members of the gang were nabbed for their involvement in a theft case lodged with Karamchat police station on June 23. Jewellery worth Rs5 lakh and Rs16,000 in cash were seized from their possession.
The SP said the police officers investigating the case were taken aback when some members of the gang disclosed that they preferred to remain in jail for quality food served to them in prison. “Bahar to achcha aur pasand ka khana bhi nasib nahi hai (Quality food and of one’s choice is a daydream outside the jail),” the SP quoted some of the arrested thieves as saying.
According to the jail authorities, chicken, paneer, kheer, halwa and ‘anda karhi’ are served to the jail inmates in the state. Moreover, dahi-chura, puri-sabji, sattu and chana-gud are also offered to them in breakfast. Needless to say snacks and tea are also on the menu for the prisoners.
Beur model jail superintendent in Patna Jawahar Lal Prabhakar said, “We have a different menu for the seven days in a week. Before Covid-19 pandemic, the prisoners used to buy delicious and tasty food items from the food counter inside the jail.”
Earlier, an investigating officer said the arrested thieves also wanted to remain in judicial custody to skip work and anger of their wives, who used to ask them to fetch firewood from the forest. The arrested thieves were identified as Viren Musahar, Buchi Musahar, Guddu Musahar, Vijay Musahar, Rakesh Musahar and Tampu Musahar.
A jeweller identified as Dilip Kumar Soni was also arrested for buying stolen articles from the criminals.