The main purpose of the open prison is to ensure social integration of prisoners
The concept of open prison is quite new for Nepal although it has been in practice in the developed countries to reduce the overwhelming pressure on the regular prisons. Jail-birds are kept in enclosed areas, called prisons, where they spend their time till they serve the jail sentence as per the verdict of the court of law.
Those who have committed even minor offences are also kept inside the regular prison houses, resulting in overwhelming crowds and accommodation problem. Nepal has 74 prisons in 72 of the 77 districts. Bhaktapur, Bara and Dhanusha do not have any prison while Kathmandu and Dang have two prisons each. These prisons, scattered across the country, have an accommodation capacity of 16,000 persons. But they are crammed with more than 24,000 jail-birds, according to the Department of Prison Management (DoPM). The very concept of an open prison is to engage jail-birds in community service, releasing them on parole and providing them with employment opportunities in much spacious areas set up by the government and outside. For this, the government has already acquired around 535 ropanis of land in Ganapur of Banke for the construction of an open prison, which is in the final phase, with a capacity to accommodate 3,000 inmates. The main purpose of the open prison is to ensure social integration of prisoners.
It has been two years since the Supreme Court ordered the government to prepare regulations, conditions and procedures regarding the implementation of the open prison, community service and social integration of inmates. In response to the court's order, the DoPM recently drafted the Open Prison Operation Regulations and has submitted it to the Home Ministry for its approval so that it could be implemented at the earliest. A draft of the regulations was prepared after holding discussion with the other government stakeholders. As per the Criminal Offenses (Sentencing and Execution) Act, 2017, a jail-bird, who has served at least two-thirds of his/her sentence in a regular jail, can be sent to the open prison. A district judge may, on the recommendation of the concerned jailer, send any prisoner to the open prison.
As per the regulations, the jail-bird is allowed to go outside the open prison and do certain work for a certain period with minimal supervision under the prescribed terms and condition. The period of work is deducted from the sentence. In case the terms and conditions prescribed by the government are violated or s/he commits any offence during the period, s/ he shall be sent back to the regular prison to serve the remaining sentence or be slapped a fresh sentence. Should the concept of the open prison come into force, it will certainly reduce pressure on the regular jails, where there are still more inmates than their accommodation capacity. The provision of providing them with work opportunities outside the open prison will help them earn a living and lead a normal life after their release from jail. The government, however, needs to identify the areas where the jail-birds can work. In order to make the concept of an open prison effective, the judiciary and the Home Ministry must remain impartial and judicious while letting a jailbird spend time in the open prison, where s/he enjoys more freedom than in a regular prison.
Gold smuggling
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is turning into a gold smugglers' den with an arrest made almost every day. Those smuggling gold include both Nepalis and foreigners. Since the government clamped down on the import of luxury goods in the wake of dwindling foreign exchange reserves, smuggling of such commodities has been on the rise. For instance, although Nepal Rastra Bank has put a curb on the import of mobile phones above Rs 35,000, the market continues to be flooded with them. There is a demand for gold ornaments round the year, but with the women's festival of Teej just round the corner, there has been a sudden surge in demand for them.
Smuggling is taking different forms to evade the customs. People use false bottoms of suitcases to smuggle gold into the country. Of late, smugglers are sprinkling gold dust on clothes to hoodwink the customs officials. Despite the daily arrests, surely a lot more gold is being smuggled into the country, not just through the TIA but also through the border points. The government must, therefore, enhance vigilance at the international airports - now that we have two - not only to discourage gold smuggling but also to stop revenue leakage.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 23, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
