Life’s a party for African inmates

Life's a party for African inmates

Finding strength in numbers with the addition of nearly 100 captured Somalian pirates, Africans are forming gangs, bullying other prisoners, and making it difficult for jail officials to monitor the barracks

The sudden spurt in African inmates following the recent arrest of nearly 100 Somalian pirates is giving Arthur Road jail personnel sleepless nights.

Illustration/Jishu Dev Malakar

Finding strength in numbers, the Africans have reportedly begun to bully other prisoners and the language barrier (see box) is making it difficult for jail staffers to control them.

The pirates, serving time in judicial custody, have joined their African counterparts, arrested for crimes such as cyber fraud, bank fraud and drug peddling. This has resulted in life being a party -- or as close to it as it can get in prison -- for the growing 'African family'.

u00a0"They bully other prisoners and don't fear anyone. They have even begun to smuggle in cheap drugs such as heroin, brown sugar and cannabis inside the prison compound to supply to drug addicts," said
a jail official, on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, African undertrials smuggled in basic items like toothbrushes, cigarettes, tea bags, undergarments, lighters and biscuits and sold them to inmates for nearly five times the price. "The items were put on display outside the barracks and the prison compound would resemble a flea market," said a former undertrial.

Jail authorities are getting ready to accommodate the 61 Somali pirates captured by the Indian Navy earlier this week. Apart from the pirates, there are 150-odd African prisoners, most from Kenya and Tanzania, lodged in the jail.

Missing the dons
With dreaded underworld gangsters such as Arun Gawli, Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa being shifted out of the prison for security reasons, the Africans do not fear anyone anymore. "The Africans feared these gangsters and would not dare to bully anyone in their presence," added the official. Life, however, isn't always hunky dory for the African family. The internecine war among the African undertrials has also led to two killings inside Arthur Road jail in the past 10 years.

Lost in translation
Interrogations into the pirate attacks have often hit a roadblock because the investigating agencies cannot understand the language spoken by the pirates. Officials have had to use interpreters to help with the interrogation and have even had to resort to sign language in some cases.

Anti-piracy laws
India does not have Anti-Piracy laws to deal with pirates. The captured pirates are booked under criminal sections of the IPC such as attempt to murder, kidnapping, rioting with deadly weapons and for violating the Passport Act. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are holding discussions with their international counterparts to help in framing the laws.

The Other Side
Ramesh Dhamne, superintendent, Arthur Road jail, was unavailable for comment.