Mumbai
Undertrials lodged in the crowded Arthur Road Jail are likely to get more breathing space.
Updated : Feb 06, 2013, 11:45 PM IST
Undertrials lodged in the crowded Arthur Road Jail are likely to get more breathing space. The state prisons department is scouting for land in Mumbai where a new prison can be set up for both male and female undertrial prisoners, so the pressure can be eased off Arthur Road and Byculla women’s prisons.
Arthur Road Jail, which can accommode a little over 1,000 inmates, lodges over double the number due to lack of space at other prisons.
“We are searching for land under the city jurisdiction. Our priority would be to find something in South Mumbai or the eastern suburbs because we require around 10 to 15 acres of land,” said Vinod Lokhande, inspector general of police (prisons).
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had recently asked senior officers of the prison to send a proposal for a new jail within the city.
Lokhande added, “After identifying and finalising the land, we will soon send a proposal to the Union Home ministry for funds. The new jail will be built with all necessary requirements and modern amenities.”