NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to all states and Union Territories (UTs), raising concerns over the growing threat of radicalisation in prisons and urging countermeasures, warning that it could turn into a serious threat to public order and internal security.
In its communication, a copy of which is with The New Indian Express, the MHA also outlined a set of guidelines to initiate countermeasures, as they included screening inmates, conducting regular risk assessments, isolating high-risk individuals under enhanced surveillance, and initiating de-radicalisation programmes for such prisoners.
“Prisoners can often become vulnerable to radical narratives owing to feelings of alienation, a tendency towards violent behaviour, or anti-social attitudes, and in some cases, radicalised inmates may engage in acts of violence or orchestrate attacks against prison staff, fellow inmates, or even external targets,” the MHA said, adding that radicalisation in prisons is becoming an increasingly critical challenge in the global context too and is often found to be a precursor to several criminal activities.
“It has, therefore, been felt that there is an urgent need to check and counter radicalisation of vulnerable individuals in prison settings and to undertake an exercise for de-radicalisation of such individuals, as the same is considered crucial for preserving public order and ensuring internal security,” it said.
The MHA said in light of the growing concerns, it was sharing guidelines with all states/UTs to take note of and apply in their respective jurisdictions for addressing and countering the issue.
It said the states/UTs need to develop standardised screening tools for the identification of inmates. These tools can help in assessing the behavioural patterns, associations, and ideology-based indicators of all prisoners admitted to prison institutions.
The risk assessments should be periodically conducted both at the time of entry of the prisoner and during his/her period of stay at periodic intervals, it added.
For this, prison departments may coordinate with the law enforcement and intelligence agency units in the state/UT for identifying inmates who can pose a risk of radical influence to other inmates, the MHA said, adding that high-risk inmates should be segregated from the general prison population to minimise the risk of indoctrination.
The states/UTs may consider establishing an independent high-security prison complex in their jurisdiction for housing hardened/radicalised prisoners, terrorists, etc., separately with a view to prevent them from influencing other inmates, the MHA suggested.