Karnataka jails see a drop in Muslim prisoners: NCRB

Ahna Prakash | NT

 Bengaluru

There has been a 16 per cent decline in prisoners hailing from the Muslim community lodged in Karnataka’s prisons in 2021, when compared with 2020, as per the National Crime Records Bureau data.

According to latest prison statistics released by the bureau, Karnataka’s jails had 478 Muslim convicts in 2021, as against 681 in 2020, a decrease of 29.8 per cent. As for undertrials, the data shows a 13 per cent decrease in Muslim prisoners. There were 2,156 Muslim under[1]trial prisoners in 2021, down from 2482 in 2020.

Not just in Karnataka but the decrease in number of Muslim prison inmates can be seen all over the country as per the data. India recorded an overall decline in Muslim inmates in prisons, comprising detenues, convicts, undertrials and other prisoners. It declined to 18.7 per cent in 2021 from 20.2 per cent in 2020.

 However, advocates believe that NCRB data cannot be fully trusted. Madhurima Dhanuka, the head of prison reform programme at Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said, “I think it’s too early to say that there has been a decrease. It is certainly not a trend. There are several reports that show that many Muslim people are being detained and convicted recently. We have always been sceptical about the sourcing of NCRB data. We cannot outright say that it is manipulated, but it definitely doesn’t show the reality on the ground.”

She also added that the decrease in number can also be due to the government releasing prisoners as a part of celebrations of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

“Though there has been a 23 per cent increase in the number of prisoners, according to the latest data. But the decrease in number can be attributed to the government releasing many prisoners during the pandemic. Also, Bommai announced that they will be releasing certain categories of prisoners to celebrate the 75th year of Independence,” said Dhanuka.

 As per the 2011 census, Hindus constitute 79.8 per cent of the total population, followed by Muslims, who are 14.2 per cent. Karnataka prison data also shows that the number of Hindu prisoners have slightly gone up in 2021, when compared with 2020. The total number of Hindu convicts in Karnataka in 2020 was recorded at 2,856, which increased to 3,188 in 2021.

 But activists point out that among the Hindu prisoners, most of them belong to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Communities.

 The National Coalition for Strengthening SCs and STs (PoA) Act (NCSPA) has analysed the NCRB 2021 Report stating that in 2021 there has been 1.2 per cent increase in crimes against SC.