This Article is From Mar 20, 2010

Modi wants separate jail for terrorists

Modi wants separate jail for terrorists
Amhedabad: Narendra Modi has added a new chapter to his anti-terrorism manual.

He wants to build a new jail in Gujarat exclusively for terrorists. The 20-crore prison near Gandhinagar will be able to accommodate 600 prisoners.

The new prison would take some of the load off the overcrowded Sabaramti Jail. But Modi believes its real benefit will be that it will not allow terrorists to influence or recruit other convicts to help them out.

''With both the terror convicts and those convicted under CrPc sharing the same prison, there is a chance that these convicts could become potential sleeper cells for terror groups," explains Gujarat's Home Minister, Amit Shah.

The Opposition says the new prison is proof of the failures of the Modi government. ''On one hand, the Gujarat government claims it has curbed terrorism, that it has not seen much terror activities in eight years. On the other hand, it's talking about jails for terrorist. It's a contradiction. It's Modi's attempt to hype his anti-terror agenda.''

In the last decade, Gujarat has seen three major terror attacks. In 2002, two terrorists stormed the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar and killed at least twenty people before they were shot dead by commandos. In 2008, close to 30 people were killed when 16 bombs exploded across Ahmedabad, most of them in tiffin boxes strapped to cycles in crowded markets. Days later, 18 bombs were found in and around Surat and were defused before they could cause any damage.

Modi's focus on fighting terror has given him much political mileage in his state. He's also been fighting for a Draconian anti-terror law - the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act - but the Centre has blocked it because of fears that it will be misused in a state that seen the worst communal riots in India's recent history.
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