The jails across Jammu and Kashmir are filled up with people more than its capacity and the J&K police now seeks assistance from prisons outside the Union Territory to accomodate more people.
Most of them are arrested under PSA (Public Safety Act) UAPA, and other charges in regard of the activities detrimental to ‘national security.’
Over 500 people are currently being held under the PSA in J&K, 150 of whom were arrested between March and April alone, reported The Print.
"To resolve the situation, the J&K Police is writing to prison departments in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, seeking to shift out some prisoners so space can be made to accommodate more PSA-accused."
“Because of the crackdown on people involved in stone-pelting and other acts that are detrimental to the security of the country, many were arrested under PSA in the last two months,” a source told The Print.
“The Central Jail in Srinagar is full, as is the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu [largest jail in the Union territory]. Smaller jails in districts of Kashmir also do not have space, so we are trying to find ways to accommodate prisoners. We may also shift some of them outside J&K to make space.”
Despite a drop in incidents of stone-throwing, it was “necessary for maintenance of law and order," a source in the police department have said.
However, residents of Kashmir capital Srinagar said people charged under several acts bailed by the courts get rearrested in other cases to ensure they never get out of jails. Police denied the allegations.
Reportedly, many Kashmir citizens are already lodged in prisons at several states of India.
