Addressing a parliament meeting on Sunday, the prime minister, who also looks after the home portfolio, emphasized on the need for making a serious and overall review of the country´s security system.[break]
“The incident of a suspicious person shooting an inmate inside the central jail has made it urgent for a serious review of our overall security system,” the prime minister said at the parliament meeting. He said the government would take immediate action for improvement of the entire security and prison management system.
“The probe body will bring out the reality behind the incident soon,” he said. The prime minister vowed to bring the culprit to book. “The culprit might have a connection with anyone. But no stone will be left unturned to punish him,” he said.
Meanwhile, top officials said a complete overhaul of jail is necessary as thousands of inmates are staying in the dilapidated buildings built nearly hundred years ago.
There are 74 jails across the country. The jails can only accommodate 6,416 inmates. However, a total of 10,923 prisoners, including 616 foreign nationals, are staying in the jails at present.
Durga Prasad Bhandari, director general of the department of prison management said, “The central jail can accommodate 1,200 inmates but it currently houses 1,909 prisoners. Worse is the situation at Dillibazar and Nakkhu jails,” said Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Arjun Jung Shahi at the meeting of parliament´s Public Affairs Committee.
According to Shahi, there are 458 inmates in Dillibzar jail while its total capacity is only 150 and there are 480 prisoners at Nakkhu jail though it can accommodate only 175 inmates.
The officials at the meeting emphasized on urgent need for infrastructural and managerial reforms in all the jails. They said some security devices are immediately needed for recording and screening. “We don´t have walk-through screen gates, enough metal detectors and CCTVs even at the central jail,” IGP Ramesh Chand Thakuri said at the parliamentary committee meeting.
Home Secretary Govind Prasad Kusum pointed out need for reform in several aspects of prison management. Officials said the shooting at the central jail was the result of negligence and human error.
But lawmakers came down heavily on the top officials´ statements. Maoist leader Dinanath Sharma said though the plight of inmates and the dilapidated condition of the prisons was a genuine problem and that need to be immediately addressed by the government, the officials´ argument that the home ministry has done nothing to stop misuse of state resources makes no sense.
“It is true that the prisons don´t have enough resources but why can´t you stop misuse of money from the state coffers. First you have to stop it,” Sharma said. He criticized the officials for not stopping former home ministers from using vehicles worth tens of millions of rupees from the state coffers.
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