Maximum number of graduate convicts in UP

Punjab has the second highest number

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh may not have an impressive literacy rate, but it accounts for the largest number of graduate and post-graduate convicts and undertrials.

A report prepared by the National Crime Records Bureau shows that the largest state of the country has 1,048 convicts who are graduates, which is higher than in any other states.

Punjab has the second highest number (651) of graduate convicts followed by Madhya Pradesh (559).

Uttar Pradesh also leads in the category of post-graduate convicts with 187 followed by Madhya Pradesh (180), Rajasthan (130) and Chhattisgarh (124). Among the 1,08,572 convicts, 31,775 (29.3 per cent) are illiterate and 49,997 (46 per cent) are educated below Class X.

NCRB prison statistics for the year 2005, published recently, also show that 72.5 per cent (78,718) of the convicts were Hindus while 18 per cent (19,561) were Muslims. 29 percent (31,220) belonged to the OBC category while 20.8 per cent were Scheduled Castes.