ADGP’s circular highlights scams in prisons across TN

In a circular to all the prison officials in the State based on the reports he had received during a special inquiry, the ADGP accused several officials of misusing their position to provide illegal facilities to prisoners for money.

“A male nurse employed at a central prison allows visitors to provide various medicines to the inmates against the rules, and smuggles the supplies from the prison dispensary to a private clinic of a doctor who is also posted in the prison,” read the circular citing one such case.

The ADGP has also accused a superintendent of a district prison forcing the relatives of the inmates to buy groceries, vegetables and to pay the electricity bill of his residence.

The other major allegations include a Grade 2 constable’s (a Central prison official) affair with wives of inmates and allowing the kin to meet inmates even on holidays after receiving money. Caste-based discrimination also formed part of shortcomings raised in the circular.

The circular admits malpractices such as demanding money from inmates who are eligible to go on leave, allowing use of mobile phones and drugs after receiving money from inmates, demanding bribe to release inmates even after court issues a bail order to them, extending the period of stay at individual cells to influential prisoners and discrepancies in the account book of canteens run inside the prisons.