The northern state of Uttar Pradesh is known to have a high crime rate, and with the?Hathras gangrape, the region has become the centre of all crime-related topics.
Given the 'state' of the state, it is no surprise that it has a high number of prisoners too. But did you that a majority of these convicts boast of an engineering or a postgraduate degree? This has been revealed by the NCRB 'Crime in India' 2019 report.
According to a Times of India report, of 3,740 prisoners who hold a technical degree of diploma in engineering, 727 or 20 per cent are lodged in UP jails followed by 495 in Maharashtra and 362 in Karnataka. This speaks volumes about the fact crimes don't come from a place of illiteracy and anyone and everyone is capable of committing one.
The state also has the highest number of post graduates being housed in its jails - 2,010 out of 5,282 nationwide. According to Uttar Pradesh's director general (DG) prisons, Anand Kumar, a large chunk of technical graduates have either been convicted or are facing charges of dowry deaths and rapes.?
¡°A few have also been accused of economic offences,¡± Kumar told Times of India.
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Overall, of the 3,30,487 inmates in Indian jails, postgraduates comprise 1.67 per cent while 1.2 per cent are engineers. Their skills, however, are put to good use within the jail premises.?
¡°Prisoners with engineering or technical background are helpful in upgrading technology in jails. For instance, many talented engineers have developed e-prison modules in the jail, others have helped in computerisation of the prison inventory system. They have also played an important role in the installation of jail radios within the premises. So many have turned teachers and are involved in e-literacy programmes,¡± the DG said.
Uttar Pradesh Prisons?Department has one Model?Jail, 5 Central?Jails, 61 District?Jails, 2 Sub?Jails, one Kishor Sadan in Bareilly and one Nari Bandi Niketan at Lucknow. Overall there are total 71?prisons?working in the state.??
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Rehabilitation for prisoners is extremely important as after they serve their sentence, they return to society. According to the DG, the prisoners' skills are being put to good use and along with the services of the prison, it also does the prisoner a great deal of good when it is time for them to go back to the real world.