Over 50% inmates in Tihar prison belong to Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe and from Other Backward Classes (OBC), as per Prison Statistics 2018.
The data was recently shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs in response to a question in Rajya Sabha.
The data show that in 2018, there were 3,724 SC, 540 ST, and 4,063 OBC prisoners in Tihar jail out of a total of 15,468 inmates — accounting for 53.65% of the jail population. In 2017, there were 3,725 SC, 215 ST, and 4,156 OBC prisoners — accounting for 53.4% of the jail population. In 2016, the percentage was 51.2; in 2015, it stood at 46.9%.
The data was shared by the MHA in response to a question on whether the government maintains data based on the caste and religion of inmates, and what is the percentage change in the figures.
The data also showed that in 2018, there were 4,275 inmates from the minority community, out of which 84% were Muslims; the rest included 289 Sikhs, 348 Christians and 42 others. In 2017, Muslims accounted for 83.9% of the total inmates from the minority community, and in 2016, it was 84.1%.
There has been marginal change in the percentage of inmates from the minority community since 2014, the data showed.
“Demography and the fact that people from lower strata of society are more prone to committing crime, could be the reasons for the high percentage,” a prison official said, adding that the high Muslim population in the jail could be because “after Hindus, Muslims are highest in number in India”.
