Nagpur: The overcrowding issue at Central Jail seems to have no end, with a whopping 1,027 excess inmates currently lodged in Nagpur Central Jail alone! Although the jail has a capacity of 1,940 inmates, it is currently accommodating 2,967 individuals serving sentences.
The jail is designed to house 1,798 males and 142 females; however, there are currently 2,870 males and 97 females incarcerated in Nagpur Central Jail.
Presently, Maharashtra operates 60 jails with a combined capacity of approximately 25,000 prisoners. However, the actual number of inmates currently stands at 42,000, significantly surpassing the sanctioned capacity. In response to this, efforts are underway to establish new prisons in Gondia in Vidarbha, Palghar, Washim, and several other districts. These initiatives aim to alleviate the overcrowding issue, as informed by ADG Prison, Amitabh Gupta, during his recent visit to the city.
Vaibhav Aage, the Jail Superintendent of Nagpur Central Jail, confirmed the issue of overcrowding inside the jail.
“The overcrowding of inmates is certainly a concern. The Prison Department is taking every step to address this problem. Although it undeniably strains our existing manpower, we are working tirelessly to make the best of our resources here at Nagpur Central Jail,” he stated.
– Ravikant Kamble & Shubham Nagdeve
