Nearly ten per cent of Tihar inmates are drug addicts: DG (Prisons)

New Delhi, Jan 31 (UNI) More than 1,260 or nine per cent of the total population of nearly 14,000 Tihar Jail inmates are drug addicts, with the maximum percentage comprising those in the 24-30 years age group, and about 1,180 were 'detected' in 2006 itself.

While nearly 37 per cent of these are in the 24-30 years age group, nearly 30 per cent are between 31 and 45 years of age, and another nearly 28 per cent in the 18-23 years group, Director General of Prisons B K Gupta told mediapersons at the annual press conference today.

''Of these, more than 60 per cent are hardened ones - used to drugs for more than five years, nearly 46 per cent taking to drugs due to 'peer pressure' and another nearly 27 per cent 'out of curiosity'.'' While nearly 47 per cent of all addicts are single, nearly 54 per cent are illiterate, he informed.

''Big time efforts are on to de-addict and rehabilitate them with the help of NGOs and counselling therapy. In the last year itself, 5,180 Tihar inmates took to 'de-addiction treatment' at the 120-bed Integrated Drug De-Addiction Centre on the Jail Hospital premises.'' Efforts are on to 'free' the premises of drug abuse or usage with certain strong measures being adopted by the Tihar administration.

''While six men from the 'forces' were dismissed, another two of them removed last year due to their alleged complicity in 'supplying' banned substances like tobacco and 'bidi' to the inmates.'' A 25-member 'Central Searching Team', placed at the Police headquarters, has been formed to make 'surprise checks' on the premises which has helped curb drug usage substantially, the DG added.

UNI