4,000+ inmates got vocational training in 5 years: DGP (Prisons)

DGP (Prisons) Alok Kumar Roy has said Haryana’s prisoner rehabilitation programme is showing strong results, with more than 4,000 inmates enrolling in long- and short-term vocational courses over the past five years. The training is being conducted by ITI and Polytechnic institutes inside jails across multiple districts.

Roy highlighted a major step forward: a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN). “This partnership will help prisoners secure employment after release. They will also receive Good Conduct Certificates upon completing their courses, ensuring they do not face hurdles in finding jobs,” he told The Tribune on Friday.

The Directorate of Skill Development and Industrial Training has also launched ITI programmes in five jails — Ambala Central Jail and district jails in Karnal, Jind, Faridabad and Gurugram. A total of 255 inmates are currently enrolled across 12 trades, with 14 instructors appointed to train them.

Dismissing reports of overcrowding, Roy said all jails have adequate space. He added that around 50,000 people enter Haryana’s jails each year and a similar number are released. The department is now working on a mechanism to track the post-release progress of trained inmates.

Sharing details of reforms, Roy said earlier ordinary inmates were assigned manual labour while gangsters were often exempted on security grounds. “This has changed. Labour is now allocated based on escape risk, health and the nature of work and gangsters are no longer kept isolated or given special treatment,” he said.

The department is focusing on dismantling the ‘gangster glamour’, Roy added. “We want society — especially youth — to see their real, miserable condition in jail and during trial. This is part of a broader effort to prevent young people from being drawn toward criminal networks.”