‘Murderers Are The Most Reliable People’

‘‘It
would
be
difficult
for
us
to
run
jails
if
it
wasn’t
for
murderers.’

His
warm
and
genial
greeting
over
the
phone
belies
the
job
he
was
in
for
decades
—
assistant
superintendent
of
police
(ASP)
in
the
dreaded
Tihar
Jail.

Sunil
Kumar
Gupta‘s
2019
book,

Black
Warrant:
Confessions
of
a
Tihar
Jailer,
has
been
converted
into
a
Netflix
series
successfully
and
is
directed
by
Vikramaditya
Motwane
and
Satyanshu
Singh.

He
is
now
an
advocate
in
the
Supreme
Court
and
Delhi
high
court
and
has
written
two
other
books
—
one
on
prisons
laws
and
another
on
the
rights
of
prisoners.

Gupta
has
many
firsts
to
his
credit.
He
was
instrumental
in
framing
the
Delhi
Prison
Act
and
Manual,
and
initiated
jail

adalats
in
collaboration
with
the
judiciary
in
the
jail
complex
itself.

In
1983,
he
helped
start
the
first
Legal
Aid
Cell
inside
Tihar
Jail
for
prisoners.

While
basking
in
the
afterglow
of
the
series’
success,
Gupta
tells



Rediff.com
Senior
Contributor

Shobha
John
that
the
job
of
a
jailer
is
akin
to
slavery
as
most
have
to
kowtow
to
their
masters.

Part
one
of
a
two-part
must-read
interview:

You
have
been
quoted
as
saying
that
the
Netflix
series,
based
on
your
book

Black
Warrant,
is
90%
correct.
Where
was
the
10%
discrepancy?

It
has
been
a
bit
sensationalised.
For
one,
it
gives
the
impression
that
I
allowed
notorious
criminal


Charles
Sobhraj
to
escape
from
Tihar
Jail.

But
I
was
not
even
present
when
this
escape
took
place
on
March
16,
1986.
I
only
had
a
professional
relationship
with
Sobhraj.

Secondly,
the
Tihar
accountant
who
committed
suicide
is
shown
in
the
series
as
hanging
himself,
but
he
had
actually
cut
his
neck
artery.
Also,
not
all
the
gang
names
used
are
correct.

Did
Charles
Sobhraj’s
jail
escape
after
feeding
drugged
sweets
to
the
guards
shock
you?

Yes,
it
did.
It
happened
on
a
Sunday
and
it
was
my
off
day.
I
was
enjoying
a
movie
on
Doordarshan.

Suddenly,
the
movie
stopped
and
it
was
announced
that
dreaded
criminal
Sobhraj
had
escaped
with
12
other
criminals.
I
rushed
to
jail.

Your
book
mentions
high
profile
prisoners,
corruption
in
Tihar
and
other
illegalities
there.
Did
you
face
pressure
to
withdraw
the
book
or
make
enemies?

Yes,
but
when
a
person
does
any
new
thing,
it
can
often
attract
enemies.
I
was
criticised
by
senior
bureaucrats.

Why
did
you
write

Black
Warrant?

Tihar
Jail
used
to
be
frequented
by
legal
students,
scholars
and
researchers
who
wanted
to
study
the
psychology
of
criminals,
especially
those
who
were
going
to
be
hanged
and
rapists.
Rapists,
for
example,
had
a
quick
mindset.

However,
when
I
retired
in
July
2016,
Tihar
had
increasingly
become
strict
for
visitors.

So
I
wrote
this
book
to
help
such
students.

Also,
I
wanted
to
highlight
the
good
work
being
done
there
to
reform
prisoners
such
as
yoga
and
meditation.
This
can
be
implemented
in
jails
abroad.

The
actor
who
played
you
in
the
series,
Zahan
Kapoor,
is
seen
as
naive
and
upright.
Was
this
how
you
were
in
1981
which
is
the
period
shown
in
the
series?

Yes,
I
very
naive
then
and
scared
despite
being
an
ASP.
I
was
earlier
in
the
Railways,
but
was
always
attracted
to
the
khaki,
so
I
joined
the
prison
department.

Besides,
I
had
old
parents
and
wanted
to
remain
in
Delhi.

Zahan
Kapoor
got
all
my
mannerisms
and
speech
correctly
despite
meeting
me
just
once.

He
said
he
had
watched
all
my
earlier
videos.

You
seem
rather
soft
as
compared
to
the
rough
and
tough
image
of
a
jailer.
How
did
you
earn
the
respect
of
prisoners?

(laughs)
Yes,
the
softness
is
thanks
to
my
genes
and
upbringing.
The
series
wanted
to
show
that
one
could
be
soft
and
yet
run
a
jail.

I
had
no
problems
with
any
prisoner,
but
the
jail
staff
was
tricky
to
handle.

One
can
earn
the
respect
of
prisoners
if
they
know
you
are
fair,
efficient
and
care
for
them.

But
it
is
a
fact
that
most
of
them
are
more
comfortable
with
corrupt
jail
staff
as
it
is
easier
to
get
things
done
with
them.

As
a
jailer
for
decades,
what
have
you
learnt
about
criminal
psychology?

I
have
learnt,
ironically,
that
murderers
are
the
most
reliable
people.
Most
of
the
important
work
in
jails
—
security,
administration,
discipline
—
are
handled
by
murderers.

That
is
because
they
have
to
stay
in
jail
longer
due
to
their
crimes
and
are
on
their
best
behaviour
so
that
they
can
get
maximum
remission.

In
fact,
it
would
be
difficult
for
us
to
run
jails
if
it
wasn’t
for
murderers.

Some
of
them
were
so
reliable
that
the
other
prisoners
thought
they
were
jail
officers.

Was
there
a
difference
when
famous
people
were
imprisoned?

Yes,
the
system
came
under
pressure
as
these
prisoners
would
try
to
buy
everyone
and
everything.

Some
who
were
guilty
of
economic
crimes
were
put
in
the
court
complex
inside
the
jail
which
had
many
facilities
such
as
computers
and
video
conferencing
facilities
so
that
they
could
arrange
for
the
defrauded
money
to
be
given
back
to
the
victims.

Feature
Presentation:
Aslam
Hunani/Rediff.com