In a bid to tame violent prisoners, who are plenty in UP prisons, the officials at the district jail in Ghazipur, about 325 km from here, have decided to give them “yoga” lessons.
Jail officials said that they expected that through the “yoga asana” and “pranayama,” the violent behaviour of the die hard criminals and convicts could be controlled.
The officials said a proposal to introduce yoga lessons in jail had been sent to the administration for approval. “We are in touch with yoga experts and once the proposal is accepted they will be called in to give the lessons,” they added.
Jail officials have already started morning prayers in an apparent attempt to bring about a change in prisoners. The Ghazipur jail is considered one of the most sensitive jails in the state. It houses a number of convicts.
There have been numerous clashes on the jail premises in the past during which many inmates as well prison guards sustained serious injuries, officials said. “Only recently three inmates in the jail died allegedly after the rival gang members administered poison in their soft drinks, which they had bought from the jail canteen,” they pointed out.
The jail also once housed mafia-don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, the expelled Bahujan Samaj Party legislator and the main accused in the killing of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Krishnanad Rai. Ansari was transferred to another jail following an apprehension that his presence could trigger a gang war inside the prison.
Officials said yoga classes could be started in other jails in the state also if found to be successful in controlling violent behaviour of the inmates at Ghazipur jail. Jails in UP are overcrowded and the chaotic conditions at some of them coupled with rampant corruption have resulted in violent clashes among the inmates in many jails.