HYDERABAD, Nov 29: Inspector General of Prisons Sindh Yamin Khan proposed on Saturday the government was considering proposal for formation of a separate unit of court police for producing under trial prisoners (UTPs) in courts.

Talking to journalists at the Central Prison after reviewing written test for jobs in jail department, Mr Khan said that “the proposal had been around for some time and it had been suggested to the government to separate court police to lessen pressure on regular police.”

He informed that around 250 prisoners were found infected with hepatitis during an ongoing screening in jails. “With court police working under jail department pressure on regular police would lessen to a great extent and prisoners could be produced in courts on a regular basis,” he said.

He said that vacant posts in jail department needed to be filled in the wake of considerable increase in number of prisoners. Naushahro Feroze and Ghotki prisons were 95 per cent complete and would soon be handed over to prison administration, he said. Jails’ construction in Thatta and Mirpurkhas would take some time, he added.

He ruled out need for building new prisons for women and juvenile offenders, saying that existing ones were catering well to their needs.

“Overcrowding and lack of space in jails leads to skin diseases so we are also planning to build additional barracks. 86 per cent of jail population comprises UTPs,” he said.

He cited a meeting with Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, in which the chief justice had called for expeditious disposal UTPs’ cases to avoid overcrowding in jails.

He admitted that prisoners turned violent off and on but claimed that they put forward unjust demands to jail administrations. “We can’t allow use of cell-phone inside the jail but prisoners keep pressing for permission.

“We can accept their just demands like meetings and interviews or complaints against jail staff for which we hold inquiries and take delinquent officials to task,” he said.

He said that the prison department was trying to revive industry in jails to help prisoners earn some money. “Prison is not a place where a man should be confined and served food alone. It’s a place where these people should be groomed so that they can become useful members of society once they are released,” he said.

He conceded that a report compiled by two judges of Sindh High Court after visiting various prisons, pointed out to corruption in jails.

“But then, jail department is also part of this society and they cannot be absolved of such charge,” he said.

Mr Khan said that so far 80 jail officials had been dismissed, suspended or faced some form of disciplinary action.

To a question about prisoners’ food, he said that the daily amount of food certainly needed to be raised and it had already been recommended in a summary that it should be raised to Rs50 per prisoner a day from current Rs31. “It will raise budget for prisoners’ diet to Rs300 million from present Rs170 million,” he said.

He said that Sindh health department had found 250 prisoners infected with hepatitis during an ongoing screening in jails. “We have not yet done 100 per cent screening and it will continue,” he said.