SHILLONG: The 22nd edition of Prison Statistics India 2016, an annual publication of National Crime Records Bureau released this year, has stated that prisoner occupancy rate in Meghalaya as on December 31, 2016 stood at 132.2 per cent which is the sixth highest in the country.
Chhattisgarh has reported the highest overcrowding (189.9%) followed by Uttar Pradesh (164.1%), Madhya Pradesh (136%) and Meghalaya (132.2%).
The report said that as on the same date, there were 83 convicts in the jails of Meghalaya while the number of under trials was 743.
It also stated out of 743 under trials, 290 were illiterate, 316 were below Class X, 133 were Class X and above, but below graduation, and two were graduates.
Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have reported the highest number of central jails (11 each) in the country while Meghalaya had none as on December 31, 2016. The state also did not have any sub-jail or any open jail.
Stating that the Meghalaya had five district jails, the report added that the total capacity of the jails in the state is 630 while the inmates population in prison was 833.
Occupancy rate of female inmates in other jails (except woman jails) in Meghalaya is 21.82 per cent.
It also added that in 2016, there were as many as 1393 movement of inmates to courts while the movement of inmates to hospital was 435.
The report also said that the total number of prisons at national level had increased from 1,387 in 2014 to 1,412 in 2016, an increase of 1.8 per cent.
The 1,412 prisons in the country consist of 732 sub jails, 394 district jails, 137 central jails, 64 open jails, 42 special jails, 20 woman jails, 20 Borstal Schools and three other jails.
The highest number of prisons were reported in Maharashtra (154) followed by Tamil Nadu (138), Rajasthan (126), Madhya Pradesh (123), Andhra Pradesh (112) and Karnataka (102). These six states together cover 53 per cent of total jails in the country.
The report also added that the actual capacity of prisons has increased from 3,56,561 in 2014 to 3,80,876 in 2016 (as on December 31 of each year), having increased by 6.8 per cent during 2014-2016. Number of prisoners lodged in various jails has increased from 4,18,536 in 2014 to 4,33,003 in 2016 (as on December 31 of each year), having increased by 3.5 per cent during the period.