Home Minister Ramsevak Paikra on Wednesday informed the Chhattisgarh Assembly that there are as many as 2,428 prisoners currently lodged in three jails of Bastar division. In a written reply to ruling party member Devjibhai Patel, the Minister informed that there are 1,512 inmates in Jagdalpur Central Jail against its capacity of 579 prisoners.
Similarly, the Dantewada District Jail has 548 inmates against its capacity of 150 prisoners while Kanker District Jail has 368 prisoners against its capacity of 65 prisoners. Meanwhile, in a written reply to another question by Congress member Deepak Baij, the Minister informed that a total of 432 police encounters with the Maoist insurgents took place during the past three years in the State.
During the period, 99 insurgents had surrendered. During encounters, a total of 95 police personnel were martyred and 104 insurgents were killed. This apart a total of 29 villagers got killed during encounters, he stated.