GUWAHATI: The Dibrugarh Central Jail holding radical preacher Amritpal is considered to be of high-security in nature that getting out of it will be unimaginable for the inmates.
The jail has had a record of no jailbreak with the mighty Brahmaputra acting as a natural moat on one side and a police reserve in the vicinity as a barrier on the other. The jail's unique location is another contributing factor to this record.
“One jailor that the people of Dibrugarh talk about to this day is Debeswar Neog. He served here from 1974-77,” Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan told this newspaper sharing the anecdote.
In the mid-1970s, inmates at the jail trembled at the thought of facing jailor Debeswar Neog who was known as the strictest jailor at this 164-year-old prison in Assam.
“He was very strict and the prisoners shuddered with fear at his sight,” the BJP leader, born and brought up in this upper Assam town, said.
Neog may not be around but he continues to epitomise this high-security prison which is in the news after Khalistani supporter Amritpal Singh and nine of his aides were lodged here.
“It was established in 1859-60. Those days, the British gave a lot of importance to Dibrugarh among places in upper Assam. It is a historic place,” Phukan said, adding one reason why the British preferred this town was that it had a riverport.
He said the prisoners serving life terms grow organic vegetables on the jail compound. The jail still has some manufacturing units. The prisoners make soap, bamboo and cane stools etc.
Assam has six Central Jails. The authorities did not reveal why they chose the one in tea and oil-rich Dibrugarh to house Amritpal and his aides.
Asked about it, Director General of Police GP Singh told this newspaper, “You would have asked this question for any jail that he (Amritpal) would have been kept in. Isn’t it?”
He did not answer further queries. Meanwhile, Phukan said a reason could be that it is a highly secured jail with all facilities.
“The airport is only 15 km away. A road bisects the civil court and the jail. It is very easy to take prisoners to and from the court. Then, Dibrugarh is at the end of the Northeast. There is only one route – a road – to escape to mainland. Possibly, these are reasons why they have been kept here,” Phukan said.
The Dibrugarh jail is Assam’s second oldest prison after the Central Jail, Tezpur which was established in 1846. The Dibrugarh prison is India’s easternmost Central Jail with its complex straddling over 15.54 acres of land. Far east and south of Dibrugarh lies Arunachal Pradesh. Myanmar and China are beyond Arunachal.
During the height of the insurgency movement in Assam, several dreaded ULFA rebels were lodged here but there was never an incident. The jail, which is well-equipped to manage inmates, can house 680 prisoners. Currently, some 450 are lodged. There are 24 male wards and 4 female wards. The jail has special infrastructure to house people arrested under the National Security Act.