In Uttar Pradesh, the number of undertrials is almost 2.4 times the number of convicts
Uttar Pradesh prisons are massively overcrowded, holding 60 per cent more than the permissible capacity of inmates, an RTI response has revealed. In a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application, prison officials have informed that there were around 93,301 persons in Uttar Pradesh jails, while the official capacity is 58,111 persons.
Overcrowding is a major problem in Indian jails with the Supreme Court last year terming the situation "not only tragic but also pathetic".
As per the information dated May 30, 2017, given by Akhtar Riaz, Additional IG (Administration) Jails, there are a total of 70 jails in Uttar Pradesh of which five are central jails at Naini (Allahabad), Varanasi, Fatehabad, Bareilly and Agra, and three are special jails at Lucknow and Bareilly.
These jails can accommodate 58,111 persons, which includes capacity for 51,839 men, 2,956 women and 3,316 juvenile prisoners.
The total number of persons in the state's jails stands at 93,301 - with 11,470 in the central jails and 699 are in special jails. This includes 364 foreign prisoners as well.
The number of undertrials is almost 2.4 times the number of convicts.
"The overcrowding of the state prisons along with presence of such large number of undertrials is indeed a worrying situation that needs to be sorted out without delay," said activist Nutan Thakur, who filed the RTI.
Since the past few years, Uttar Pradesh prisons have reported incidents of riots violence.