One-third of posts in jails vacant in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The jails in Assam are facing a severe manpower crunch. A third of the posts are lying vacant in the state jails. As many as 395 of the 1,188 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. It amounts to over 33 per cent of the sanctioned posts.

There are 31 jails in the state. The break-up is – six central jails, 22 district jails, one special jail at Nagaon, one open-air jail at Jorhat and one sub-jail at Haflong. The Assam prison headquarters is at Khanapara, Guwahati under the Inspector General of Prisons.

Four of 30 posts of the superintendent, 5 of 30 posts of the jailer, 29 of the 99 posts of the assistant jailer, 19 of the 31 posts of medical and health officer, one of seven posts of nurse and two posts of psychiatrists are lying vacant in various jails in the state, sources said. Similarly, one of six sanctioned posts of laboratory technician, 3 of 14 posts of jail teacher, two posts of craft supervisor, 2 of 18 posts of craft instructor and five posts of sweepers are lying unoccupied.

As many as 276 of the 815 sanctioned posts of warder are lying vacant. Three of 8 posts of the chief head warder, 11 of 73 posts of head warder (male), 1 of 9 posts of head warder (female), 224 of 631 posts of warder (male) and 37 of 94 posts of warder (female) are vacant.

At the Assam prison headquarters in Guwahati, the post of an Assistant Inspector General is also lying vacant. As per prison sources, there are 10,838 prisoners in various jails of the state against the capacity of 10,270 inmates. The Guwahati central jail has 1,612 inmates against its capacity of 1,000.

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