NEW DELHI
The Public Works Department (PWD) is in the initial stages of setting up Delhi’s first high-security prison (HSP) at Tikri Khurd village, Narela, and aims to complete the project by 2026, to house 256 high-risk prisoners in isolated cells.
Officials said that 40.2 acres have been allotted to the prisons department for the project, for which the Centre will fund ₹100 crore. Senior officers linked with the project said that the construction of cells has been planned so that high-risk inmates could neither see nor talk to another inmate.
Satish Golchha, the director general (prisons), said: “It will curb their interaction, which often results in forming gangs inside the prison. This jail will also have in-built jammers in all its wards.”
A senior official from the Delhi government’s home department said that the complex will have 20-metre-high walls as its periphery to check the flow of contraband. “We have intelligence inputs that associates of jailed inmates often wrap prohibited objects and toss them over the prison walls from outside. These items are then smuggled into the jails by inmates. These walls will ensure that no one can throw phones, drugs, razors and other prohibited items to the inmates. Also, nets will be put up to prevent prohibited items from reaching the inmates,” the official said, asking not to be named.
There is a need for an HSP in the Capital, as evidenced by clashes, planned murder, and seizure of contraband and mobile phones from within cells. In one such recent incident, gangster Tillu Tajpuria was brutally stabbed over 100 times and a message was left with his blood on the walls at Jail No. 8 of Tihar Jail on May 2, 2023. In another incident dating to November 30, 2020, an associate of the Neeraj Bawana gang was stabbed to death by four rivals. Among other gangsters or associates killed in jail include the murder of an Irfan Chhenu gang member in August 2022 and the murder of gangster Prince Tewatia by Rohit Choudhary gang in April 2023.
Design and features
Officials said that the HSP will have state-of-the-art security mechanisms, such as automated locks that can be accessed only with biometrics of the jail staff—doing away with padlocks—jammers, videoconference facility for virtual court trials, attached toilets, body cameras, hospital, and rooms for judges and advocates.
A senior officer with the Tihar Jail said that the PWD has prepared the final drawing and the preliminary estimates for the HSP. “The central government shall be funding the project on 100% grant basis, but if any expenses go beyond ₹100 crore, the Delhi government will bear it. The central government has already transferred ₹10 crore on February 1, 2024. The tendering process has been completed and the HSP will be completed by 2026,” the officer said, on condition of anonymity.
The officer said the complex will be shaped like a starfish, with four tentacle-like arms containing cells panning out from a central watch tower, which will be located at an elevation. The arms, of unequal lengths, will be engineered in such a way that the front of a set of cells will face the rear end of the cells on the opposite arm, the officer said.
“For this technical reason, communication between the prisoners will be impossible and effective surveillance on a large number of inmates will be possible even with fewer guards,” the officer said, adding that this will also eliminate the chance of contraband or banned articles making their way in.
“Deterrence for violating prison rules will be on higher pedestal and segregation of hardcore from general prisoners, as mandated in rules, can be secured. Since the cells will be constructed with RCC (reinforced cement concrete), concealing anything in the wall will not be possible. While the arms are proposed to be two-storeyed (G+1), the watch tower will have an additional floor (G+2),” the officer said.
A second officer said that accommodation for jail officials, including superintendents, jailors and other support staff, will be provided within the building. “Each cell will be in a size of 15 feet by 8 feet, secured by a heavy iron grill door with a specially designed automated lock system. Some of these cells will have attached toilet facilities, to house high-risk prisoners with physical disabilities,” the officer said.
The officer said there will also be adequate space for an administrative block on the premises.
“An independent in-house hospital facility for the inmates, with psychological and psychiatric counselling available. It will also have independent court complex consisting of rooms for the judges and advocates, besides a waiting lounge. Videoconference-equipped rooms will be connected to external courts through dedicated high-speed internet, and the whole HSP complex will have dedicated power supply and backup,” the officer said.
DG Golchha said: “Unlike the existing padlock systems at Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli jails, the HSP can only be opened or locked by the biometrics of bona fide jail staff. Different wards of this jail will also have a dedicated call system for inmates, through which they can communicate with their families on designated days.”
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