24 Tihar Jail inmates to be placed in semi-open jail

New Delhi: To aid reformation of convicts and to show them that trust could be reposed in them, Tihar Central Jail, India`s largest prison, has chosen 24 prisoners for the open-jail system this year.

"This year, 24 inmates have been selected for the semi-open jail. The selection of these convicts for their confinement in semi-open jail was approved recently by Delhi`s Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna," said Vimla Mehra, director general (Prisons). Last year, only two inmates were selected for the semi-open jail, Mehra said. While in the semi-open jail, a prisoner is allowed to work for a full day outside his sub-prison, but within the 400-acre sprawling premises of the jail. Tihar houses some 12,000 prisoners. When the semi-open jail scheme was first announced last year, only two prisoners were found eligible for it. IANS