Clash inside Sajiwa jail
Report submitted, but details held back
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 29 : Report of the Departmental Inquiry instituted to investigate into the riot that took place amongst undertrial prisoners inside Sajiwa Central Jail on May 24 this year has been submitted to the Government.
While 39 prisoners sustained injuries of varying degrees, a room of the jail was also burnt during the riot.
According to the inquiry report, the riot could not be averted or controlled in time due to shortage of jail staff, conveyed an official of the Jail Department.
The inquiry into the riot was conducted by the SP of Central Jail Imphal. Acting on the Departmental inquiry report, the DG Prisons has proposed to the Government to increase jail staff. In response, the Government has agreed to fill vacant posts, informed the official.
Interestingly, even as there is strict prohibition on taking any object that can be used as weapons or cause fire in jail premises, many prisoners used such objects which could cause death such as swords, iron rods, broken bottles, bricks, clubs etc. Moreover, they also used fuel to set fire on the structures located inside the jail premises during the May 24 jail riot.
In the clash, 12 prisoners belonging to PULF, two of KCP, one each of UNLF, PLA, seven belonging to KYKL, one prisoner of KRA (U), nine PREPAK prisoners and six other undertrial prisoners sustained injuries.
In the aftermath of the clash, the Home Department sent 40 Home Guards to enhance the strength of the jail staff, conveyed the official while strongly contending that it’s time to follow a separate jail manual for Manipur rather than following the Assam Jail Manual.
Prisoners languishing in the jails of the State are serving their jail terms just having their square meals a day. They are not provided any facility to inculcate good morale and better knowledge. There is no facility for schooling or library or to engage in any work. Under such circumstances, it is hard to imagine for the prisoners to undergo any change in their mental set-up, noted the official.
Disclosing most of the UG cadres pay more attention to their seniors/superiors than to the words of jailors even if it was for their welfare, he said that as such there is no scope to reform the undertrials.
Observing that the number of undertrials involved in various crimes has been increasing than the number of UG prisoners in both Sajiwa Jail and Central Jail Imphal, the official asserted that the increase of criminals has become a cause of quarrels and fightings inside jail premises.
Under the changing scenario there is a need to establish jail protection armed force and to arm jail staff otherwise it would not be long before prisoners started dictating jailors, he cautioned.
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