New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS) It was Hip-Hop and Bhangra at the Tihar Jail, India’s biggest prison here, as its 14,000 inmates Friday celebrated the 58th Republic Day. A popular FM radio station also pitched in with a series of special programmes.
What came as an additional sweetener was the remissions announced for some prison terms.
The Punjabi Bhangra dance by a group of inmates and the Hip-Hop routine by Nigerian inmate Jack, who has been booked for narcotics’ peddling, were the main attraction of a series of programmes the jail authorities organised.
Announcing a reward of Rs.1,500 for the Bhangra performers, Deputy Inspector General of Police C.R Garg said: “We encourage our inmates to participate in such programmes as they help in easing stress.”
On behalf of the Delhi government, Garg announced a remission of two months for prisoners sentenced to terms of more than 10 years.
“Prisoners serving terms of five to 10 years, will get remission of 45 days,” he added.
Meanwhile, the “Hello Delhi” programme on Radio Mirchi, popularly known here as 98.3 FM, went live from the jail from early morning with the aim of revealing the human face of the prison.
The show, hosted by RJs Anant and Saurabh, revolved around interactions between the jailers and inmates of the prison.
“We shared interesting moments of their lives and also discussed the education system of the jail and the other facilities provided to the inmates,” Anant told IANS.
“We were a little wary about going to the prison. The ongoing reforms there have changed our perception and we now realise that life in prison is more organized and disciplined than we had thought,” Saurabh said.
“It has been a unique experience. Sharing the mike with the inmates has helped us to learn many things from them. We can’t neglect them because they are still part of society,” he added.