Provincial Minister for Prisons Chaudhry Abdul Wahid Arain on Friday said that there are more than 49,000 prisoners in 32 prisons of the province which is almost double the capacity of prisons, therefore, 12 new jails are being constructed in Punjab. He said that steps are being taken for transforming jails into reformation centres and various courses including computer training are being conducted in accordance with the market demand for the benefit of the prisoners.
He said that in order to check the use of mobile phones, such jammers will be acquired which could jam mobile signals only within jails. The minister further said that modern scanning system is being evolved in prisons so that mobile phones and other illegal items could not be smuggled into prisons. He further said that concerned superintendent of the jail will be responsible for any incident or use of narcotics in prison. He said that there are more than 20,000 prisoners involved in murder cases in prisons of the province, while 29,000 prisoners are involved in other crimes. He said that a number of women prisoners are 761. The minister further said that new jails will be constructed in Okara, Bhakkar, Pakpattan, Layyah, Lodhran, Rajanpur and Shujaabad.