Mumbai: In the high-security cell of Jaipur Central Jail, Rizwan* must carefully consider when to use the in-built toilet. The cramped space that has been his ‘home’ for nearly three years is devoid of both ventilation and an exhaust fan. This means that once he uses the toilet, the stench gets trapped in the room, lingering for hours.

“It is unbearable,” he says. Rizwan continues to hold his breath for long periods, multiple times, as the small cell quickly transforms into a “torture chamber.”

Rizwan is one of over 50 ‘high-security prisoners’ in Jaipur Central Jail. Both convicted individuals and pre-trial detainees have long raised complaints with jail authorities, trial courts and even the Rajasthan high court about the lack of basic amenities at the facility. These complaints, some dating back to 2019, have gone unanswered. Now, over a dozen incarcerated individuals have shared their complaints and written letters with The Wire, providing graphic accounts of daily life in the overcrowded jail.

According to data released by the state prison department in September 2024, the facility houses 1,818 prisoners when it was designed for just 1,173. As a fairly large central prison accommodating both pretrial and convicted prisoners, one would expect basic amenities for those incarcerated. However, several complaints, petitions, and letters reviewed by The Wire reveal that prisoners are denied even the most fundamental provisions.

Excerpts from two of the several letter sent to The Wire. Photo: Sukanya Shantha

‘A mug, a blanket and a can’

Wasim, who was convicted a few years ago in a terror-related case, explains the induction routine for a new prisoner. Upon entry, he says, prisoners are given one mug, one black-coloured blanket, and one can that holds five litres of water. “This is all you get to survive inside the prison,” he writes. For everything – bathing, using the bathroom and even storing potable water – this small can is all that is allotted.

Jaipur winters are particularly severe, and a single coarse blanket is all that prisoners are provided to both spread on the floor and cover themselves, Wasim writes in his 12-page letter. The dilapidated structure, crumbling ceilings and leaks in many cells, causes........

© The Wire