Drug trade and supply inside prison should be stopped

According to the data given by home minister Asaduzzaman Khan in March, the jails in the country have capacity for 40,000 prisoners. The prisons currently have 88,084 inmates, that is more than double the capcity. Overcrowding is not the only reason of unhealthy environment and irregularities in the jails. The inmates, instead of correcting themselves, get involved further in crime due to negligence of duty, corruption or coercion of the persons in charge of the prison.

The High Court's recent eight-point directive aimed at improving the prison environment is crucial. The directives given by the High Court bench headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder and Jjustice Ahmed Sohail include maintaining security, peace and order inside the jail, strict measures to prevent drug supply in the jail from outside and so on.

The court said that the jail authorities should be vigilant so that no one can use forged affidavits for fraudulent purposes. Full names and addresses of the prisoners convicted and on trial and the case address should be recorded in the offices of the chief inspector of prisons, chief of prisons, deputy chiefs of prisons.

After examining the bail application of Mizanur Rahman alias Konak, a prisoner accused in a corruption case worth Tk 54.4 million, the court found that he was released on June 25 this year on bail from a virtual court.

But on 11 October, he again applied for bail through Keraniganj jail deputy chief Khandaker Al Mamun. The court then pardoned him after he appeared in court and admitted his mistake. The accused, on the other hand, was ordered to surrender to the lower court.

There are allegations of drug dealing in various jails. There are also incidents of killings and injuries in some prisons. Drug dealing may escape the attention of the law enforcement outside the prison, but not inside.

It is the responsibility of the guards to search and seize drugs brought by the visitors. If the court's instructions are followed, there will be no more murders and injuries inside the prison, and the environment there will improve.

Prison is a correctional facility for criminals. Those who are imprisoned here, whether convicted or on trial, need to be kept in an environment where they will have the opportunity to correct themselves.

In India, an inspecthor general of prisons, Kiran Bedi, created an environment in Delhi's Tihar Jail where prisoners lived a very 'free' life. She created opportunities for the prisoners to build a better life, as well as for education and recreation.

It is needless to expect such a thing in the prisons of Bangladesh, but at least the authorities should abide by the law and keep the prisoners away from drugs and other crimes. Then at least no one will think of the penitentiary as a haven for crime.