Central Jail at Sundhara.
There are 26,000 prisoners across the country. Each prison where they live is a separate village, the watchmen, boys, brothers and boys are the leaders. There is a separate power inside the prison, their empire runs there. And Baluwatar and Singhadbar’s selfishness is also added to this.
Kathmandu. On 18 October 2078, the letter of transfer of Chowkidar Navin Rai to Jhumka Jail suddenly arrived at District Jail Morang. Generally, prisoners are transferred on the basis of a letter sent to the Prison Management Department through the Chief District Officer through the relevant prison administration. However, the prison administration was surprised when Rai’s ‘Ramana letter’, which was not recommended, arrived. The special details of the transfer were revealed when, on 16 October 2078, gangster Abhishek Giri was brought to Biratnagar from Dillibazar prison in Kathmandu.
When Giri, accused of kidnapping and body hostage, was taken to Biratnagar, there were protests both inside and outside the jail. After relatives outside and prisoners inside raised slogans, more police had to be mobilized inside the prison to control the situation. Finally, the Jail Management Department decided to send Giri to District Jail Saptari. Giri is the same person who was transferred from the prison to Dillibazar prison on 23 Chait 2074 on charges of criminal activities and torturing prisoners. However, with the formation of the coalition government led by the Nepali Congress, Giri has started moving to be transferred to Morang prison, sources in the prison management department say.
According to a senior official of the department, Abhishek was under pressure to transfer Morang to Home Minister Balkrishna Khan. Until Giri was transferred to the officials of the department, he kept getting phone calls from Khan’s secretariat, and the officials told him that he would go to Morang again and there would be a ‘commotion’. The officials of the department said that Abhishek’s earlier activities in Morang were the reason behind this. But who will listen to the department? Abhishek was transferred after the phone calls from Phanindramani Pokharel, head of the Secretariat and Peace and Security Division, said an official.
However, the Prison Management Department, which transferred Giri under the pressure of the leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress, could not hold on to the decision to send him to Saptari for long.
In the meantime, two watchmen in Morang, Kiran Gurung and Kattik Kamat, had changed in a short period of time. Giri’s chalkhel also worked in its background. Both of them were transferred from Morang after Giri arranged the change in the prison. After 17 days of staying in Saptari prison, it was decided to take Abhishek to Morang again. This time, he had already ‘addressed’ the people who might oppose him. According to sources, before the second attempt to go to Biratnagar, he had transferred 9 of his opposing prisoners to the eastern hill district.
After that, it happened as he expected, when Giri reached the prison, everyone remained silent. As soon as he appeared, he also got the responsibility of watchman. “If he spoke or he was transferred, who will speak against him after seeing such obstructed access?” asks a prisoner in the jail, “Even so, opposing Abhishek means risking his life.”
It is the month of July 2078. One afternoon Janakraj Dahal, Director General of the Jail Management Department at Kalikasthan, was surrounded by four or five Tarun Dal leaders and activists in his office. The phone and landline were also ringing. The people who reached there were putting pressure on him saying that he should do the work anyway. “We have also met Dai (Home Minister) above, we had to advance the file for prison exemption,” a worker of Tarun Dal told Dahal. However, the persons recommended by them were from the ‘negative’ list for prison exemption.
In the procedure related to pardon of prisoners, there is a law that pardons cannot be granted for offenses such as organized crime, arson committed with intent to kill people, crimes against the state, cruel, inhumane or crimes against humanity, murders committed in a cruel, violent or heinous manner. The persons recommended by Tarun Dal leaders and activists were in this ‘negative’ list. They said that the recommendation of that person has come from the concerned prison.
However, when the prison administration refused to proceed with the file, they approached the Ministry of Home Affairs with a petition. According to the source, “Based on the decision of the Cabinet, it is possible that his name will appear any day in the announcement of amnesty to the prisoners directly from the President.” On 11th May 2077, there was a clash between Gokul Giri, the watchman of Dillibazar Jail and other prisoners. In the incident, Shamsher Tamang, who is accused of coercion, was injured. In the background, due to the clash, it was seen that the canteen refused to lend the goods, but the main point was the game of removing the prison watchman.
Generally, prison guards change once a year. However, at that time, even after a year and a half in Dillibazar jail, the watchman had not changed. A prisoner says that other “powerful prisoners” in the same prison played a role in escalating the clash. After the tension, the prison administration removed Giri as a watchman and appointed Poshan Pokharel as the head of internal administration. Prisoners do not always rely solely on the influence and reach of leaders to be transferred to prisons of their choice. Sometimes they even create artificial clashes themselves to force them to transfer.
Dillibazar Jail.
For example, during the tension in Lalitpur’s Nakkhu Jail on 17 Baisakh 2070, the inmates captured Nepal Police Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Chetraj Joshi and Police Deputy Inspector Shyam Kumar Limbu. According to an officer assigned to the investigation at that time, the notorious kidnapper Amar Tandon was behind it. The police investigation revealed that he had incited the inmates to fight in order to seek transfer from Nakhkhu prison.
The police officers also remember the behavior of Siddharth Lama, the leader of the kidnapping gang. As Lama did not get telephone facility in the Central Jail, he pressured the department through various people to go to Dillibazar Jail. The case of Bhakta Bahadur Sunar, who was killed in Nakhkhu prison on 22 Baisakh 2075, is an illustration of the extent to which the game of killing the leadership of the internal administration of the prison is played. “Serial killer” Abhishek Singh wanted to dominate the internal administration of the prison, but he was not able to. That is why he made a ‘dense poison using natural plants inside the prison’. It was found that Singh had tested it on prisoner Bhakta Bahadur Sunar.
It was revealed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) that he killed him inside the prison in the belief that if he died during the trial, then Chowkidar Buddha Gurung would also be found guilty and he would take his place. Before his death, he was also asked to write a letter in the name of goldsmith saying that every person in the prison is being extorted. In the letter addressed to the then Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, it was said, ‘In the past, money was also demanded from Chandra Rajvanshi, but when he did not give it, he was beaten up. .’
Jailer Krishna Gayre of District Jail Parsa is under stress now.
The reason is that there is a rapid change of guards in the prison under his leadership. He is feeling it, but he can’t do anything by himself. According to an officer of the Jail Management Department, Dinesh Yadav was given the charge of Chowkidar in Birgunj only from the beginning of July. Nakkhu Jail in Lalitpur, Central Jail in Kathmandu, Dillibazar Jail, Zonal Jail Jhumka, District Jail Morang, District Jail Parsa and Banke are among the most trafficked jails.
However, an officer of the department told Jan Prahar that there is pressure from Baluwatar to remove him and bring another team. According to him, there is pressure on the department to remove Yadav from Birganj and make Chhotelal Sah, who is currently in the central jail, as its chowkidar. “Since he is close to the state MP Ramkrishna Yadav, he is trying to become a chowkidar through him by making access to Baluwatar,” said the official, “If the chowkidar changes every now and then, there will be no control of the administration inside the prison, discipline will be perfected.”
Why is there a big manipulation in the transfer of prisoners and the appointment of internal administration?
Officials of the department suspect that there may be mainly economic reasons behind this. According to them, a person is ready to spend up to 15/20 lakh rupees to become a jail watchman. Because, experts say that large prison watchmen earn up to 5 lakh rupees per month by extorting money from prisoners for library, sports, patients, shops, etc.
Ramchandra Payasi Kushwaha is also among the ‘VIP’ prisoners who use power to reach their chosen places. Kushwaha, who is also the former Speaker of CPN-UML, was imprisoned for the murder of his own party’s leader Mohammad Alam. He is imprisoned and transferred to prison using the leaders of UML. He passed through Dillibazar, Central Jail, Nakhkhu Jail, Sindhuli Jail and now he is in Birgunj Jail. An officer of the prison department says, “Wherever he goes, he disturbs the administration.”
The reason for the rush to become a janitor
The internal administration of the prison is headed by the Chowkidar. According to the Prison Rules 2020, the Jailer can appoint Chowkidar from among the inmates of the prison for the purpose of taking assistance in the internal management of the prison. The jailer also has the right to appoint Nike and co-Nike. In the regulations, there is a provision to appoint one Nike for 25 prisoners and one Co-Nike for 10 prisoners. Nike and Co-Nike are appointed by determining the number of prisoners in the middle of June.
According to the jailer of a prison in Kathmandu, those who become chowkidar in this way have special privileges. Chowkidars also get extra per diem allowance and exemption from punishment. Chowkidars who work in prisons are given the facility of two months imprisonment for one year, Nike and co-Nike also get a shorter prison term.
According to the jailer, when making a watchman, those who have already served at least 50 percent of their sentence will be made except for life. In the regulation, it is said that while making chowkidars, they should be made from among the prisoners who have ‘good behavior’. However, he says that when appointments are made under pressure, it is not only behavior, but in some cases even those who have stayed for a short time get appointments.
For the appointment of a watchman, the recommendation of the chief district officer must be submitted to the director general of the prison management department. The Prisons Act, 2019 has provided for keeping shops within the prison premises for the convenience of prisoners. All its management is done by the watchman. “Even if the shop sells and distributes at the prevailing market rate, it will be very beneficial,” says a jailer. They happen.
The lack of conditions in the prisons and even in this condition, the lack of power in the prison has worked.
Chowkidar also has the facility to go out to buy the materials needed in the prison. “Generally speaking, the prison guard is a position like our officer,” he says, “even if he tries to escape, he does not get the same facilities here, that’s why the prison guards do not escape even if they have the facility to go out, they want to stay as the power center of the prison for a long time.” The prison is a separate village, there the chowkidars, boys, brothers and boys are the leaders. They run a separate power inside the prison, their own empire runs in the prison. They tend to settle the usual fights in the prison by themselves. Jail officials say that the post is attractive in the prison as the chowkidar appoints people of his own choice in matters such as kitchen and telephone facilities.
Currently, there are 74 prisons in 72 districts across the country, apart from the 5 districts of Dhanusha, Bara, Bhaktapur, East Rukum and East Navalparasi. There are two prisons in Dang and Kathmandu in the same district. Among them, Nakkhu Jail in Lalitpur, Central Jail in Kathmandu, Dillibazar Jail, Regional Jail Jhumka, District Jail Morang, District Jail Parsa and Banke are among the jails with the highest number of cases. In these prisons, there are not only guards, clerks and brothers-in-law, but there is also a widespread use of power to transfer there. An officer of the prison management department says, “It is difficult for those who hear about the operation of the prison for the first time to believe it.”
Selfishness that grows in lack, unhappiness
It is because of the shortage in the prison that there is such a disorderly situation and even in this situation, the self-interest of the government is flourishing. However, there is a shortage inside the prison and the power centers try to play on that shortage. When former Attorney General Yuvraj Sangraula went to Bhimfedi Jail for monitoring in 2068, there were 137 prisoners in 10/15 rooms. “Even when sleeping with the head against the wall, one had to put one’s leg on the stomach of the other,” recalls Sangraula, “there was no place to cook and eat, and there was no yard.”
He says that later the then Home Secretary Leelamani Paudyal along with the Chief District Officer were ordered to move the prisoners. “I reached at 7 pm, seeing the situation there, I immediately called the home secretary and told him that if he doesn’t move it within two days, I will file a case against you in the court”, he recalls. Now a new jail has been built in Bhimfedi, although the suffering of the prisoners remains the same. According to the Jail Management Department, the capacity of Bhimfedi Jail is to hold 335 people, but 944 prisoners are kept there.
In Dillibazar prison in Kathmandu, which is said to be better than anywhere else, prisoners also sleep under the bed. Those who have access to chowkidars and Nikes also get convenient facilities. According to the Prison Management Department, there are currently 26,240 prisoners across the country. According to a statement from the department, most of the prisons have double the capacity of prisoners. There are 1,011 prisoners in Morang prison with a capacity of 300. The capacity of Jhapa jail is also 300, but there are 1360 prisoners. There are 604 inmates in Sirha Jail, which has a capacity of 150 inmates.
The capacity of Rupandehi is 150, but there are 462 prisoners. There are 739 prisoners in Chitwan, which has the capacity to house 225 prisoners. There are 196 prisoners in Udaipur with 40 capacity, 325 in Ramechhap with 100 capacity, 822 in Kaski with 225 capacity and 431 in Kanchanpur with 75 capacity.
The capacity of the capital’s central jail is 1,500 inmates, currently there are 3,967 inmates. There are 731 inmates in Dillibazar with a capacity of 200 and 1,412 in the Nakkhu Jail with a capacity of 250. Mohana Ansari, a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, says that most of the prisons in Nepal hold up to three times the capacity of prisoners. “The government has also spent a lot on prison management, there is also international investment,” she says, “but Nepal’s prisons are like hell.”
It is the responsibility of the Prison Management Department to take the managerial leadership of prison reform. However, the government does not give priority to the department. According to the former Attorney General Yuvraj Sangraula, the Ministry of Home Affairs sends people who cannot be found anywhere else, who cannot go or who have been punished, to the Prison Management Department. The change of four DGs in the last four months shows how unstable the department responsible for managing the country’s prisons is. The Ministry of Home Affairs does not even meet its Director General. “Another one is either during retirement or when there is a large budget for rations inside the prison, if it is noticed, the director general will be sent,” Sangraula told to the public strike.
To what extent the director general of the department does not even get to meet the home minister whenever he wants.
Janakraj Dahal, the former director general of the department, says, “The home minister used to say that he would give you first priority when he was appointed DG of prisons. Later, I did not get an opportunity to meet him even once after trying many times. Dahal told Jan Prahar that he found out only after he got there that the post of prison DG was not under the notice of the ministry. According to an official of the department, the Director General of Prisons does not even get time to meet the Finance Secretary. “I have seen the DG of prisons go to the Ministry of Finance and wait for hours,” says a deputy secretary of the department.
The director general of the department also keeps changing in a short period of time. The change of four DGs in the last four months shows how unstable the department is. On June 4, 2078, the Ministry of Home Affairs made the Vedanidhi officer Acting Director General, on June 13, 2078, Fanindramani Pokharel became the Director General. Pokharel was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs within a month. After this, the ministry sent Janakraj Dahal as the director general of the department. Now he has retired and Vasudev Ghimire is leading the department.
“This shows how indifferent and helpless the home administration is in prison rules, legal and systemic reforms,” says Sangraula, “In a sensitive area like prisons, nothing but politics and self-interest was seen.
“Force” used in the interests of power
It seems that the prison system started in Nepal from the year 1971. Jagannath Deval, which currently houses the Central Jail, was brought into practice as ‘Sadar Jail’. After 2007, the prison administration was placed under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is a history that the then government formed a commission under the chairmanship of Suvarna Shamsher Jabra in the year 2005 for the reform of prisons. “In the first report, it was suggested that the ration facilities, clothing and physical conditions of the prison should be improved,” says former Director General Dahal, “I read that report and the latest report as well.” There is no fundamental difference in all of them.
After the restoration of democracy, the Prison Reform Committee was formed in 2047. In 2053, the Physical Management Study Group of Prisons, in 2057 the Study of Prisons of the State System Committee and in 2064 the High Level Committee on Prison Reforms were formed. Also in the year 2068, a task force was formed to improve the physical and managerial aspect of the prison. In the year 2074, the detention and prison monitoring report was also prepared. Everyone’s conclusion is almost the same and the solution is not until there is a change in the government’s thinking’ Dahal says, ‘If prisons are to be truly reformed, then this is also an area of potential.’ As the 25,000 prisoners inside the prison are a force in themselves, their skills and abilities are also put to work. He says that it should be worn.
“Nearly 60 percent of the inmates of the prison are very skilled manpower, their skills should be employed,” he said.
ail Office Mustang
According to former Attorney General Sangraula, the government is reluctant to turn the prison into a reformatory. He says that the entire social structure is to blame for this. “There is a tendency to look at prisoners as if they are not human beings,” he said. yes
“But in Nepal, a prisoner who is released from prison cannot blend into the society, then he gets involved in another crime,” says Sangraula, “and still not thinking about prison?” How long will they let the thieves and subbas run the jail? What should he do?” What is clear from this is that the prisoners in Nepal’s prisons are still only a ‘force’ used not only for Nike, Bhai Nike, but also for Baluwatar and Singhdarbar. From this, they want to benefit financially and more for the sake of power.
