As Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders are widely used by inmates during riots in jails, Tihar prison authorities are planning to banish it from their campus to avoid such incidents, and opt for a dedicated Piped Natural Gas network instead.
The Tihar jail authorities expect the network, which will carry gas to jail kitchens, to be laid out by April and this will cost about Rs 60 lakh, Director General (Prisons) B K Gupta told reporters.
"LPG cylinders are widely used by prisoners during riots in jails and we want to avoid such incidents," he said. During the January 7 jail riots in a Jalandhar prison, the inmates threw LPG cylinders into the fire but luckily, these did not explode.
Gupta said the close circuit television control room in the jail premises will start functioning from February 15 and it will enable the jail authorities to maintain a hawk's eye vigil on the activities inside the premises.
"We are installing 2,058 CCTVs in the 4,000 acre jail premises and this will help in the 24-hour tracking of movements and activities of prisoners," he said.
In a bid to ease pressure on witnesses, the room where Test Identification Parades are conducted, is being modernised. "Witnesses become uneasy when they encounter suspects face to face. To help them, we have modernised the room in a way that the suspects cannot see the witness," he said.
A Victim Welfare Fund has also been set up and 25 per cent of the wage earned by prisoners will be credited to it.
