Ande ka funda

The dreaded Anda cell, where actor Sanjay Dutt will be serving his six-year rigorous imprisonment sentence, is in the news again. Earlier, gangster Abu Salem was lodged there after being brought to India from Portugal. Baljeet Parmar gives a topography of the place to explain how escaping from it is impossible though many a criminal have boasted that they would do so

SK Verma (IPS)

I was posted as Special Inspector General of Police, Prisons in 1986 with headquarters at Pune. After a few months of my taking over, General Arun Vaidya was assassinated at a traffic signal near Circuit House, Pune by Sikh militants.

Few months later, the killers Sukhjinder Singh Sukha and Harjinder Singh Jinda were nabbed by the local police and lodged at Yerwada Central Prison, Pune.

The jail administration noticed that Jinda and Sukha were dangerous criminals who openly declared they would escape. It was a serious situation and going by the topography of the Yerwada prison, I could see that though this was not easy, it wasn’t difficult either.

The prison barracks had Mangalore tiles as roof top and it was easy to remove the tiles and escape.

As per jail manual, no armed guards or marshals can be posted within the jail premises, and I was worried that the militants may overpower the armless guards and escape. 

It was with this situation obtaining that the idea of constructing a new structure for dangerous inmates was thought of. I studied the designs of high security prisons in Israel, USA and UK among others. But none of them suited the conditions at home. They were designed for colder and windy conditions, not suitable for the usually hot and humid conditions in Maharashtra.

I was looking for a compact and   safe barrack where even a sparrow could not flutter, but designed in such a way that fresh air and natural light could enter the cells. I had a vague concept of an oval shaped structure and invited a structural engineer and an architect friend to discuss the design.

I sent a proposal to the government seeking necessary funds. The government sanctioned funds in quick time. The first Anda barrack was constructed at Yerwada and later on, five more were added at  Arthur Road, Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati.

The Anda barracks have 8-12 independent cells each and the cells are designed in such a way that an inmate in one cell cannot interact with a mate in other cell in. The courtyard in the centre of the barrack is covered with a thick wire mesh and thee inmates can use it for a walk and physical exercise. The barracks have a double door so any attempt to escape is futile.

Jinda and Sukha became the first prisoners to be put inside an Anda Cell at Yerwada in 1986.

(The retired DGP spoke to Baljeet Parmar)