Sumit Sharma
Jammu, Jan 15: Bureaucratic inertia and nepotism have scuttled the chances of 8 prisoners who were recommended for release on Republic Day this year as their recommendations have been biting dust in the Home department.
Sources said that meetings in this connection were held on August 8, 2012 followed by another one in December 2012. Based on the meetings, jail authorities recommended names of 8 prisoners for release. These prisoners were recommended based on their good conduct and other judgments of the board comprising higher officials of Jail, Home and 2 NGOs .
For delay, sources put blame on a higher official in Home Department who urged the inclusion of the name of his relative involved in militancy and serving sentence in a Srinagar Jail.
Though, the board submitted recommendation, the same higher officer, scuttled the process in a bid to get the name of his relative included in the list.
Meanwhile, ADG Prisons Naveen Aggarwal when contacted said that they have dispatch the file of recommendations to the Government and the direction from Government is awaited. Pertinent to mention here that some prisoners were set free about two years back on Republic Day but no prisoner was released the previous year. |
