Ghaziabad district jail in Dasna is having almost four times the number of prisoners it is designed to house. As a result, inmates do not have enough room to stretch even.

Dr Arun Agrawal

B 85, Sector 31

Noida 201303

     District Gautam Budh Nagar

     M: 09810081287

                                                           5 November , 2009

Shri Rizwan Ahmed

Addl. Director General Police  (Human Rights)

Type V/31

Police Enclave Colony

Vibhuthikhand, Gomtinagar,

Lucknow.

Sir:

Sub:  BRAZEN VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN

          DASNA   JAIL, GHAZIABAD, U.P.

Attached please find   a note on deplorable and pathetic  conditions prevailing in Dasna Jail, Ghaziabad which is in the news currently .

The note is based on personal experiences as a result of my illegal arrest  and assault on me  by one Rakesh Kumar Singh,  S.S.I. posted at Noida Phase II Police Station  on 24.9.2009 in respect of  which a representation has been made to the D G, UP Police and is being looked into .

It would be observed from the enclosed note that there is a blatant violation of human rights in respect of  the inmates , apart from disobedience of judicial directions , lack of  requisite basic facilities and denial of free  legal aid , which the poor and the needy are entitled to .

Copies of this note have been sent to the following :

1. Hon.Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court

2. Hon.Chairperson of UP Human Rights Commission

3. Shri Rajnath Singh, M.P. representing Ghaziabad constituency

4. Smt Maneka Gandhi, M.P. strong votary of human rights

5. Smt Kiran Bedi, IPS

6. Shri Rajendra Agrawal, M.P. representing Ghaziabad-Hapur

    constituency in Lok Sabha

7. Principal Secretary (Home and Jails) , State Govt of U.P.

8. Commisioner, Meerut Division

9. District Magistrate, Ghaziabad

10. District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar

11. District and Sessions Judge, Gautam Budh Nagar

as well as to the following

POLICE OFFICIALS IN U.P.

3. Director General  

4. Addl.Director General (Law and Order), Western Region

5. IG (Prisons)

6. Addl.Director General (Prisons and Corrective Measures)

7. IG , Meerut Range

8. DIG (Prisons), Meerut Range

9. Senior Superintendent of Police, District Ghaziabad

10.Senior  Superintendent of Police, District Gautam Budh Nagar

I urge that you  may kindly be pleased to direct an independent  enquiry on the continuing  mal-administration in  Dasna Jail before another Asthana or Ravinder Pal breathes his last in the very dangerous place this Jail is . The findings would be an eye-opener,

I can assure your goodself .

Submitted .

Dr Arun Agrawal

B 85 Sector 31

Noida 201303

District Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.)   

M: 9810081287

WHAT DO I WANT FROM THE PIL ?

 Convicts falling sick in overcrowded Dasna jail
It has four times the number of prisoners it is designed to house

Parmindar Singh
The Tribune
Ghaziabad, December 3 2008

Ghaziabad district jail in Dasna is having almost four times the number of prisoners it is designed to house. As a result, inmates do not have enough room to stretch even. Most inmates are sick due to lack of space and unhygienic conditions.
To meet the acute shortage of bedding, prisoners have been allowed to bring their own bedrolls. According to the jail superintendent, V.K. Singh, Dasna jail is housing prisoners many times more than its capacity. The beddings are so unhygienic that most of the criminals are suffering from skin ailments of one type of the other.
In past one year, the jail administration has organised 22 medical camps for the prisoners. Dasna jail, constructed on 34 acres in 1996, has a capacity for 720 prisoners. Besides Ghaziabad, prisoners from Gautam Budh Nagar are also lodged there. Four new barracks have since been added to accommodate the increased number of inmates. The capacity of jail had gone up to 1060 inmates which was later increased to 1660 prisoners.
A barrack meant for 60 inmates is now accommodating more than 200 prisoners. Inmates are suffering from a number of ailments as they cannot get sufficient sleep because the place is badly crammed. In addition to other ailments skin allergies have assumed an alarming proportion due to lack of space, which has created unhygienic conditions.
V.K. Singh admits that prisoners are facing lot many problems because of excessive number of inmates, lack of proper beddings and some prisoners are having skin allergies, etc.
According to VK Singh proposal for a new jail has been sent to the authorities to ease the overcrowding in Dasna jail.
One hundred acres of land has been demanded for setting up a new jail taking in view the projected need for increased number of convicts over next 20 years. For a separate jail for Gautam Budh Nagar district, 34- acre piece of land has been identified in Murastpur village, Singh added.

4 November 2009 Part II

Inhumane and pathetic conditions in Dasna Jail, Ghaziabad  based on personal experiences 

It has been  said that " If there is heavens on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here " ( referring to Kashmir )

For Dasna Jail and the conditions prevailing there, it  can be safely stated " If there is hell on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here ."  If you want a taste of horror, get charged in U.P. ( Western Region) on a petty offence and "experience" it  in   Dasna Jail by yourself . No need to go and watch an Alfred Hitchcock or a Ramsey brothers horror movie  .  it is even worse .

Some of the ghastly experiences :

- mentally insane and depraved persons are  spending time in prison - not conversing with anyone, seldom eating food and having no orientation of date and time ( housed in Baring 24B ) – 3 persons

- at least 22 persons ( as informed    by  Doctor Pande ) are on death bed , yet the  State Administration is dilly dallying on releasing them

- a cancer patient (Thakur Yudhveer Singh -  lifer) in respect of whom recommendations for release on bail on humanitarian grounds have been  forwarded by the Collector, Ghaziabad to the State Government awaits his release since last 6 months, with the papers gathering dust somewhere in the State  Secretariat ( Baring 24B) 

- Diet worth Rs 120 per day or so is to be provided to the inmates, but on calculations, it  does  not work out to be more than Rs 50

- Milk pouches are reported to be sold surreptiously to   shops outside the Jail premises

- Life saving drugs that are sent by relatives are delivered to the inmates more than 24- 26 hrs after their delivery at the main gate .

- There is no ventilation in the medical ward, because of high walls on either sides (ostensibly  to keep the mosquitoes out ) making living there extremely uneasy and  and unsafe , more particularly due to the hot and humid conditions and considering that electricity is off for the major part of the day . Only 2 tubelights are functional .

- Things available in abundance are clean drinking water drawn from the hand pumps,   usage of filthy language  by all and sundry and mosquitoes due to unhygienic conditions.

-  A Pepsi bottle that costs Rs 50 in the market is sold at Rs 90 , a small tea cup is sold for  Rs 5 and similarly for soaps and other utility items,  whereas the notice board on the small canteen states that the products are being sold with 10% profit margin only .

-  Rs 10  is to be paid compulsorily at Gate No 4 , Rs 20 at Gate No.3 and Rs 60-70 to the ward /barrack incharge, upon return to the Jail after meeting the relatives/visitors .

-   Nears and dears of  several inmates in 7A were not aware  that they were languishing in Dasna   Jail  - arrest effected without information to the relatives.

     -   In certain instances  in  498A and domestic violence cases, entire  

    families  whose members are living in distant places far apart such as

    Noida    and  Bilaspur (Chattisgarh) have been rounded up (incl: a 72

    year old Pujari  Lakhan   Goswami Baring 24A who had no role to play in

    the boy  living in Noida running off with a girl)  . As a result, no member

    of the family is available to seek legal aid . 

- " Free legal aid service" exists only on paper . In fact, one of the most  

difficult   things to find in the Jail is a paper and pen .  You cannot ask the  person concerned for a piece of paper more than once, otherwise you will be  rebuked .

     - The rotis  are cooked so badly that at least half part of them are thrown    

    away being uneatable,  resulting in huge wastage of atta  (wheat flour) .

     -  The toilets located behind the so called “hospital”  do not have running water

     and the taps appear not to have been used for several years .

     -  The bed sheets in the medical unit  are not replaced  when one inmate is   

  discharged or released on bail .  They were reported be replaced only after  15

days . The Ward 9 in the “Hospital” is never fumigated although there are

several patients  suffering from different  kinds of diseases, incl: TB  .

       - There are no stretchers with wheels to be found  anywhere in the Jail for

       patients facing Cardiac related problems or emergency situations .

    - There are no dustbins   anywhere in the grounds/open spaces outside various 

    Barracks. As a result , litter can be found thrown all over the place .

    -  There is a library in the medical unit but no. of books do not exceed 100-150

   Nos. which are very old, and it remains closed most of the time with no place to sit  inside .

   -  It was reported that there are no beds at all in the female barrack housing  

some 800 inmates .

-  With great fanfare, a Computer Centre was inaugurated a few years ago by      Ms Kiran Bedi,IPS , now it is reported to be non functional and has been locked.

  -  The Jail holds some 4500 inmates ( 3700 males, 800 males) against  the 

 capacity of 1500 , each barrack that can hold some 80-100  persons  actually  "accommodates" 275-280 persons with just  2 toilets without running water .

     At night, you have to be careful not to trip over sleeping  people if  you wish to attend to the call of the nature as even the walking spaces are all occupied .

-  The only linen provided is a moth infected thin blanket which is never sanitized.

  Some utensils such as “ glass” and “ katora” are shown as issued to the inmates,

whereas they have to actually buy it for themselves from the small canteen .

-  The inmates are made to sweep and wash the floor without mops fitted with handles and to pick up the dust and garbage with hands without being given any gloves or such other protective materials .

  -  It takes anywhere from 4-6 hours for visitors to meet the inmates, filling up forms  

  at 8.00 AM and getting to meet the inmates thereafter. Surely this period can be

  reduced to a max of  2- 2-1/2 hrs through quick processing or use of computers .

-  The prison van that can barely accommodate 20 prisoners actually takes 40-42

   persons incl: police personnel making the long distance  commuting to the District

  Courts and back an extremely painful process, especially for the old and the infirm .  

Further suggestions : 

(a) a psychological /counselling unit to assist inmates in a state of distress and shock without access to legal aid needs to be set up urgently  ;

(b) inmates be stopped from smoking bidis in the barracks and throwing the butts

on   the  floor . The entire complex needs  to be declared as “no smoking  zone”

(c) Video  conferencing facility to be set up so that inmates are not required to be transported  30-40 kms to the Courts in overpacked prison vans (  this facility is reported to be under implementation, thank God for small mercies ! )

(d) improving the quality of diet and stopping wastage by cooking the food properly

 (e) setting up a proper legal aid centre with the assistance of a retired lawyer  and 

  Postal facilities 

(f)   setting up a Business Centre 

  (g ) A vocational training centre: learn and earn incl: a printing press/laundry unit

  needs to be set up

   (h)  Augmentation of electricity supply and repairs of generators idling for want of

   spares/diesel 

   (i)   proper uniforms to be provided to Ward Incharges “Writers” and “Lambardars”

   and they (incl: policemen on duty )  be trained on  how to conduct themselves  with

   different types of  prisoners of different  levels of education and knowledge . Abuse

   and extortion of money is the order of the day .

(j)  concrete/wooden benches to be provided at all locations, including  the “ Hospital”    where inmates are  required to sit crouched on the  floor for 45-60 minutes . Additional doctors and pharmacists need to  be provided.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION  ( 1 November 2009)

That Jail Administration staff comprising of Deputy Jailors/Superintendent etc be sent to Tihar Jail , Delhi for training

on how huge jails should be administered and managed for the

betterment of mankind .

 

Corrupt and antiquated practices prevailing  in Dasna Jail, Ghaziabad  based on personal experiences 

a)Seizure of money and non accounting of  it ( either partly or wholly) at the time of  entry of  undertrials for the first time

b)Violation of human dignity  ( touching of  rectum and private parts  in public gaze

c) A good  part of various  items brought by relatives of inmates such as bidis ( in great demand) , lemons, bananas , onions, green chillies  etc.are forcibly seized by the frisking staff

d) 3-4 hrs waiting time for meeting  the visitors after being

informed of their coming, simplified procedures can easily be introduced through the process of computerization or faster manual processing without compromising on security

e) Various items, such as soft drinks  being sold well  at prices well above their MRP ( A recent Bombay High  Court Judgement directing  Jail Canteens to  not to sell above the MRP could be cited  ) . It would seem that the purchasing officials are in league with the

soft drinks distributors AS ONLY 2 LITRE bottles of a particular brand

are being sold .

f) While leaving the Jail on bail, you have  to pay bribes at

every gate you pass through , incl: the constables guarding the

barrack you are lodged in . For getting to see the inmates

at a shorter time, their relatives have to palm the grease of the

persons concerned .

g) It was reported that indoor games like carrom/ludo/ playing cards etc are available and, in fact, a day prior to the visit of a team of Judicial. Police and administrative officials from District Gautam Budh Nagar, a list was prepared of inmates interested in playing a particular game. However, no such games were ever provided despite follow up  with the Jail warden ( “ Chief Saheb”  ) or the baring incharge (called “writer “ ) . On complaining about anything, you are rebuked in filthy words .

h) When the undertrials come to the Jail for the first time, they are asked to sweep the floor/ground or else pay “ ginti” ( Rs 120 ) .

This is a strange practice as no first timer will ever have money on him . So he has to borrow from  inmates ( if he can find someone )

or else from the “collectors” and return the money to them next day or the following day with usurious rates of interest ( usually against Rs 120 borrowed, Rs 200 is required to be paid the next day)

once the relatives of the inmate/s come on visit and give some money.

i) Measures for treating inmates in an emergency like situation, such as loss of breath , vomitting and feeling of acute pain in the chest  or dizziness  etc . are non-existent .

DISTRICT OFFICIALS VISIT DASNA JAIL FOLLOWING ASTHANA’ DEATH
Ghaziabad, Oct 22 (IANS) Senior judicial, police and civil officers inspected Dasna Jail here following the death of Ashutosh Asthana, prime accused as well as witness in a corruption case involving judges of the higher judiciary, and found the medical and other facilites lacking. The statement of Asthana’s wife was also recorded Thursday.
The district judge recorded the statement of Sushma Asthana and others. The judge procured copies of documents related to the treatment and death of Asthana. He was accompanied by the district magistrate and the police chief in his inspection of the jail, said Ravinder Kumar Vashishtha, public relation officer of Ghaziabad police.
‘We found deficiencies in the kitchen. The staff was found deficient in preparing food. We have ordered that the staff be increased and hygienic conditions in kitchen and barracks be improved,’ said District Magistrate R. Ramesh Kumar.
‘We inspected the in and out note book, the pad locks and certain civil works being carried out in the jail. SSP Akhil Kumar and the district judge were also on the inspection visit. Regarding the jail hospital, we have written to the Uttar Pradesh administration to increase the staff and a doctor, but no posting has been ordered so far,’ added the district magistrate.
Earlier, the additional district magistrate City Sunil Kumar Srivastava visited the jail and found shortcomings in the jail administration.
‘To handle over 4,700 inmates and undertrials, there is just one senior doctor and a single pharmacist. How can they handle such a large rush? They have just basic life saving medicines. For serious complications or diseases, they neither have any doctor nor medicines to cure them,’ Srivastava had said.
Terming Dasna Jail hospital as just a ‘medical clinic’, Srivastava had said the hospital had no emergency measures to look after a patient inmate.   

That the Court examine as to how a learned person holding a Ph.D.

has been illegally arrested in violation of standing apex court and Allahabad High Court orders charged on a very petty offence , assaulted and brutally hit on the nose and thereafter paraded on the road in handcuffs to the District Court for production before ACJM before being remanded to judicial custody for 15 days .

   

Regards

Dr Arun Agrawal

M: 09810081287