By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: A number of inquiries have been carried out in the past on various anomalies in the jail administration in the State but there is no improvement as far as the overall scenario is concerned.
The attack on the Willamanagar jail resulting in the death of two jail staff has exposed an ineffective administration of prisons in Meghalaya.
After the Shillong jail break of May 31, 2009, there were departmental , magisterial, administrative and judicial probes into the incident, yet there were many lapses unearthed last year especially after the alleged nexus between arrested GNLA chief Champion Sangma and the staff of Shillong jail came to light. A magisterial inquiry into these allegations is yet to be completed.
The recommendations in various inquiry reports related to the jail breaks and jail administration were not followed up and fully implemented by the authorities.
A CBI inquiry into the impersonation of the under trial prisoner, Rusith Sangma found 10 jail officials guilty, but no one was punished, and in fact the officials involved were promoted.
In 2008, the special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission, North East Zone, SK Tewari visited Shillong jail and made several recommendations to improve the administration, but in vain.
The preliminary investigations of the police into the Williamnagar jail attack indicate that it was personal grudge of the arrested ANVC -B cadres, which led to the killing of assistant Jailor Neil Warjri.
In the violent act of the militants, warder SS Thabah, who was posted in Williamnagar for the last a few years, also became the victim since he was seen along with Warjri in the jail office.
Sources said that while Warjri was posted in Jowai last year, there was allegation from the arrested militants including GNLA that the jail official ill treated them. As per reports, the militants were waiting for a chance to take revenge.
From Jowai, Warjri was transferred to Tura for a few months and the attack on Williamnagar jail took place when Warjri was posted temporarily for just five days after the acting jailor K. Das took leave. Williamnagar jail did not have either a superintendent of jail or an assistant jailor after senior jail official Felicita Warjri refused to take charge even after she was posted. The affairs of Williamnagar jail were managed by the superintendent of jail Tura , JJ Sangma and Warjri has been asked to go to Williamnagar jail in the absence of acting jailor Das. Police are yet to make any arrest regarding the killing of the jail staff by the ANVC(B) cadres. A senior government official said that though the magisterial inquiry will bring out the facts related to the incident and the reason of laxity in Williamnagar jail, there is a need to carry out a full fledged inquiry into the affairs of the jail administration in the State and the recommendations arising out of the inquiry should be properly implemented.
