The Delhi Government has sought an explanation from the Delhi Prison authorities for spending Rs 30 lakh from the Prisoners Welfare Fund on the construction of the life-size statue of former Director General (Prisons) Vimla Mehra. They have been asked to give a detailed report on the involvement of “too many” non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Tihar without the approval of the Government.
The statue in question was unveiled on January 27 this year right next to the statue of Bharat Mata in Jail no-1. One of the inmates identified as Ram Chander had made the statue using clay and cement. Tihar, the largest prison in Asia, became the only jail where a DG sanctioned the making of her own statue and then went ahead with the unveiling ceremony.
The DG was removed by the lieutenant-Governor on July 17 last on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after an internal enquiry found gross misconduct. There were other issues too that were disapproved by the MHA, well-placed source said.
Sources said that the former DG’s statue was installed next to Bharat Mata statue and proper lighting arrangement was made to make it shine during the night. The funds meant for the prisoners’ welfare were funneled for bearing the cost of the DG’s statue in gross violation of the laid-down norms. The funds under this head can never be spent without the consent of an empowered committee but the then DG displayed utter disregard for the norms. The misappropriation of the Prisoners’ Welfare Fund was construed as ‘gross violation’ as the rule book is very clear about the usage of funds under this head.
The former DG was also pulled up for reducing the meeting hours for the relatives and family members of the inmates who are on death row. It has been learnt that she ordered the reduction in visiting hours for the family members of the assassins of Beant Singh, the former Punjab Chief Minister. A formal complaint was lodged with the MHA about it and the same was verified and found to be correct, the source added.
There was another issue that was frowned upon by the competent authority. Prison authorities misbehaved with former Haryana Chief Minister Om Parkas Chantal who has been lodged in Tihar after being convicted in the teachers’ recruitment scam. The same treatment was
meted out to Subrat Roy Sahara by the jail authorities and a complaint was submitted to the MHA and the Delhi Government in this regard.
The lt-Governor and the MHA took a strong view of the misconduct and ordered the transfer of the DG without even naming her successor. The order issued by the lt-Governor said that the DG should hand over the charge to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and demit the charge. The Government is expected to censure the former DG after it gets the report from the Delhi Prisons authorities, they said.