70% foreign prisoners in India await trial, data shows

Over 70 percent of the foreign-origin prisoners - nearly half of such inmates being from Bangladesh - in Indian jails were under-trials at the end of 2020, according to data released by the Indian government.

The recently released annual 'Prison Statistics India 2020' of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows some 70.4 percent (3,467) foreign national inmates were under-trials, while 23.1 percent (1,140 inmates) were convicts and 0.8 percent (41 inmates) were detenues, PTI reported.

"The highest number or 1,630 foreign under-trials were from Bangladesh (47 percent), followed by Nigeria (17.7 percent or 615) and Nepal (13.4 percent or 463)," the government record showed.

"Among the foreign convicts, the highest number of foreign convicts were also from Bangladesh (46.4 percent or 529 convicts), followed by Nepal (18.1 percent or 206 convicts), Nigeria (8.2 percent or 94 convicts) and Myanmar (7.3 percent or 83 convicts) at the end of 2020," it noted.

In 2020, the number of foreigners lodged in jails of the country was 4,926, as against 5,203 in 2019 and 5,157 in 2018.

Foreign nationals jailed in 2020 include 4,135 males and 791 female inmates.

The number of Indian prison inmates in the country stood at 4.83 lakh by the end of 2020, stated the NCRB, which functions under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to the NCRB, West Bengal has reported the highest number of foreign convicts lodged in its jails at 466 (40.9 percent) followed by Uttar Pradesh with 127 (11.1 percent) and Delhi with 73 (6.4 percent) at the end of 2020.

West Bengal has reported the highest number of foreign under-trials lodged in its jails at 1,295 (37.4 per cent), followed by Delhi with 400 (11.5 per cent) and Maharashtra with 380 (11 per cent) at the end of 2020, it stated.

The NCRB noted that the percentage share of foreign prisoners out of total prisoners has decreased from 1.1 per cent in 2019 to one per cent in 2020 (as on December 31 of each year).