Crime — a child’s play
Superintendent of Police Rawal Town, Mohammad Zaraat Kiyani, who was assigned the task, however confined himself to reporting on the 64 children hauled up by Rawalpindi police. Thirty-four of them fell under the definition of juvenile - that is up to the age of 18 - while the rest were a year or two over that mark.
However, the superintendent of Adiala Jail informed the Supreme Court that the jail held in all 114 children. Charges against them would shame even some hardened criminals -- murder, robbery, sexual assault, narcotics peddling, abduction, auto theft, burglary and fraud.
A committee comprising the Deputy Superintendents of Police (Legal) was constituted to go through the record and report on the cases registered against the children. Inquiries revealed that cases against four children were pending while the fate of five other children was not known.
According to report all the juveniles under trial were nominated in FIRs, their cases were investigated and they were produced in courts and were sent in judicial custody.
One under-trial prisoner, MN, 12, being tried for muder was interrogated inside the jail and sent to lock up by the Judicial Magistrate Kahuta on September 9, 2008.
He is to be produced before the Assistant Sessions Judge Rawalpindi, on Jan 21 for framing of charges. Three other teenagers, 13 years of age, were also in jail for their alleged involvement in murder and robbery. MA for murder, MU and SJ for planning robbery.
Seven teenagers of 14-years, five of 15-years, six of 16-years, 12 of 17 years and 25 of 18 years were also in jail along with one youth of 19-years and four of 20-years. They were allegedly involved in murder, robberies, unnatural offence, narcotics peddling, attempted murder, rape, abduction, auto-theft, burglary, foreign act and fraud.
The jail Superintendent told the court that 114 juveniles from 12 to 18 years, were presently confined under proper judicial orders and they were being produced before court for trial. Cases were registered against them with Islamabad and Rawalindi police along with Anti-Narcotics Force and Federal Investigation Agency.
It is not known how many juveniles are detained at different jails of the country. However, the Chief Justice of Pakistan has directed the Inspectors General of jails in the four provinces to present a detailed report on juvenile prisoners.
Jails in the country are in a pathetic condition and are not fit for detaining humans. Detaining juveniles in such abysmal environment with criminals spoils them and makes criminals of some of them. Juvenile offenders in other societies are detained in reformatory detention centres and their punishment takes the form compulsory social work. Jails of the country are virtually a state within the state with their own citizens -- the inmates, own rulers-- the jail administration and own laws-- the jail manual. It is very difficult for human right observers or other officials of the government to know the inside story of this secret world.
Jail remand prison is a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the state. This includes either accused persons awaiting trial or for those who have been convicted of a crime and are serving a sentence.
However, the country's jails have become crime training institutes instead of rehabilitation centers. The criminals use the jail to organize into gangs and plan future crimes. Narcotics dealings are rampant in jails and police use bullies among the inmates to take unlawful work from weaker and more civilized inmates.
Currently there are at least 75 jails in Pakistan with the capacity of about 35,000 inmates, but in actual fact, over 100,000 convicted and under-trial prisoners are confined there. It means that there is tremendous congestion in jails. The number of under-trial inmates far exceeds, by at least two-thirds the number of convicted prisoners.
It is noticed that most of such under-trial prisoners are languishing in jails due to delays in the disposal of their cases. Delays occur, sometimes, due to non-availability of transport for bringing them to courts. Delays also occur due to late submission of challans, re-investigation by police and remand of cases by superior courts. It is alleged that large number of under-trial prisoners have already completed the prescribed period of their imprisonment in jails. Some of them despite having been acquitted by the court served the sentence also due to delay in process.Jail accommodation moreover is not suited to weather conditions in the country. In winter the prison barracks and cells are extremely cold and in summer prisoner suffocate in the heat.
munaverazeem@yahoo.com