Chhattisgarh Women's Prisons Most Overcrowded: NCRB Data

According to the recently released data by the National Crime Records Bureau, overcrowding in prisons is the most common problem among the prison inmates. The data also shows that Chhattisgarh accounts for the most densely packed women inmates in prison. As per the NCRB 2017 data, there's a staggering 166.4 percent occupancy rate for women in Chhattisgarh prisons. This means that in a space meant for 100 women, 166.4 women on an average are being confined.

23 States and UTs in India have no women jails at all. So for these areas, women are put into regular jails, owing to the non-availability of women-only jails.

Key Takeaways:

• In the data released by NCRB this week, it puts forth that overcrowding in prisons is the biggest problem for prison inmates. 
• Chhattisgarh has the highest occupancy rate for women prisoners at 166.4 percent, which means that there are 166.4 women on average living in a space meant for 100 women only.
• One of the reasons for overcrowding in Chhattisgarh prisons is over 15 years of civil strife due to Naxal insurgency
• Second most overcrowded prisons exist in Uttarakhand with an occupancy rate of 155.3 percent for its female prison inmates.

Chhattisgarh prisons have an occupancy rate of 166.4, which means there are 66.4 percent more women than the threshold of a prison

Chhattisgarh Has The Most Densely Packed Prisons For Women, Followed By Uttarakhand

According to the NCRB data, Chhattisgarh accounts for the most densely packed prisons for women inmates. Chhattisgarh prisons have an occupancy rate of 166.4, which means there are 66.4 percent more women than the threshold of a prison. Basically, there are 166.4 women prisoners on average living in a place meant for only 100 people. This statistic is further followed by Uttarakhand where the average occupancy rate for women prisoners is 155.3, meaning that 155.3 women prisoners on average are living in a place meant for 100 people. However, this data is for the regular jails only.

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NCRB has distinguished its data pertaining to women prisoners in two categories. The data is distinguished into women-only jails and regular jails. With respect to women-only jails, the most overcrowded jails are found in West Bengal with an average occupancy rate of 142.04 percent, meaning, 42.04 percent more women living in the same place accounts for overcrowding here. This figure is further followed by Maharashtra with an average occupancy rate of 119.85 percent. The third spot is captured by Bihar with a 115.13 percent average occupancy rate.

23 States And UTs Have No Women Jails At All

Another staggering stats revealed by NCRB was that 23 States and UTs in India have no women jails at all. So, for these areas, women are put into regular jails, owing to the non-availability of women-only jails. In fact, among the number of total women inmates who stood at 18,873, only 3019 were lodged in women jails. This accounts for only 16 percent of the total. So around 84 percent of women prisoners are lodged in regular jails.

Jharkhand (99.64 percent), Bihar (96.29 percent) and Maharashtra (94.49 percent) had the highest rate of female inmates in other jails, except women jails.

This is not the first time that the pitiful condition of women prisoners has come to light. In August 2019, women inmates of Tihar Jail at Barrack Number 6 complained of hearing women inmates screaming in the night. Some of the inmates have even reported that they have seen a glimpse of a woman wailing mysteriously.

Picture Credit: Hindustan Times

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