New Delhi: In a move seen to curb rising voices of dissent from the Valley, the Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to build a separate Guantanamo Bay-type high security prison in Srinagar. As per media reports, the decision to set up a separate prison in the summer capital of J&K was conveyed to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti recently, who heads the PDP-BJP coalition government in the border state.
The decision to set up a separate jail exclusively for terrorists was taken following a report from security agencies that terror convicts can lure and radicalise other criminals if kept in the same prison, a report in The Telegraph said.
"The security agencies had cited some examples where ordinary criminals joined terror outfits after being radicalised by terrorists inside jails," a MHA official told The Telegraph.
It is also believed that the state government has agreed to the MHA’s proposal and demanded Rs 7 crore to start the work on the project.
The MHA data show that over 28 Pakistani citizens accused in terror cases are lodged in various jails across J&K.
There are also reports that the Centre may request all states to build separate high-security prisons away from cities to lodge terror convicts and suspects.
It should be noted that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister Gujarat, he wanted to build a jail exclusively for terrorists. In 2010, he had even mooted a proposal to set up a new jail near Gandhinagar but it was not pursued further because of some problems in finding land.
Last year, the MHA had asked states to install adequate CCTV cameras and mobile-phone jammers inside jails and monitor high-risk prisoners, especially those convicted in terrorism cases.
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which fronts on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. It was established in 2002 to detain extraordinarily dangerous people, to interrogate detainees and to prosecute detainees for war crimes.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has condemned the decision to build a notoriously known Guantanamo Bay type high security prison in Srinagar saying it is exceptionally alarming and against the interests of peace and justice.
