200 per cent overcrowding in Shillong jail

SHILLONG: The overcrowding of Shillong jail has reached an alarming 200 percentage and the government is banking on the proposed Nongstoin jail to ease the congestion.
Though the capacity of Shillong jail is 150, there are at least 400 inmates lodged there.
DG (prisons) R P Agarwal, who is also holding the additional charge of DGP, said since the overcrowding is 200 per cent there are efforts on the part of the department to complete construction of Nongstoin jail.
He said the government has a proposal for a central jail to house only convicts whereas under trial prisoners can remain in Shillong jail.
“We need to identify land for the central jail,” he said.
Earlier this year, Meghalaya had launched e-prison software to keep the data of prisoners.
Agarwal said the system will have vital information about prisoners and the staff.
The Shillong jail also provides vocational training and helps inmates who want to write various examinations.