Why are victims refusing to take compensation from Tihar Jail?
In 2010, Tihar jail authorities came up with an ingenious scheme to help crime victims: they would deduct money from wages earned by prisoners and disburse it as compensation. Eight years later, only Rs. 64L out of Rs. 13.5cr, a dismal 5%, has been disbursed. But this isn't for lack of trying. Authorities ran into unexpected problems, including victims refusing to accept the money.
Tihar's plan was aimed at helping survivors' families
The plan was to compensate rape survivors, or families which lost their only earning member, and similar cases. Of Tihar's 15,000 prisoners, 2,800 are convicts, who earn a maximum of Rs. 321 daily. Tihar would deduct 25% of daily wages earned by all convicts and store it in a superintendent's account. Each victim or their family is entitled to maximum compensation of Rs. 1L.
But officials soon faced unexpected problems
Soon, officials discovered locating victims was a problem. Currently, a deputy commissioner is responsible for this, but the person isn't even posted in the prison. In case they do locate them, many refuse to take the "blood money": money they believe is "ill-gotten." "Last time, we contacted five families, but all refused. Only around seven claims were disbursed last year," a jail officer said.
Even among those disbursed, many victims reached out themselves
Talking about disbursed cases, Director General (Prisons) Ajay Kashyap said, "Most are those in which a man murdered his wife. The kids needed the money. Their relatives approached us and we disbursed. The fund is yet to benefit victims like it should have."
Several recommendations on how the money can be better used
Kashyap says changes are needed. A DIG-rank officer posted in the prison should be in charge of identifying victims. The fund should be merged with that provided by the Delhi Legal Services Authority, which is "well-versed with each case" and can locate victims faster. SC Advocate Gaurav Agarwal suggested using the money to build facilities for kids in the Tihar creche, like play schools.
