A team representing the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), a Central government body, will be auditing the Rs 230 crore spent by the state government on modernisation of jails across the state.

The team, which will be arriving at the state capital on Thursday, comprises an international agency hired by BPRD to evaluate the work and Inspector General (Prison) Sulkhan Singh.

The team will be inspecting eight jails in Lucknow, Maharajganj, Baghpat, Kushambi, Kannauj, Balrampur, Kanpur Dehat and Siddharth Nagar. The construction of the two jails in Kanpur Dehat and Siddharth Nagar was completed within the stipulated time.

The Medium Security Jail in Lucknow, one of the eight to be inspected, was in the news for various reasons. The construction of the jail was halted by the state government after 70 per cent of the work was completed at a cost of Rs 4.44 crore.

While the main wall, circle wall, partition wall, two barracks, store room and a hospital building had already been constructed, the construction of four barracks, four watch towers, circle office, kitchen, and the administrative block were underway when the construction was halted.

“We had planned to shift all the high-profile criminals to this new jail, which was to be equipped with high security facility,” said a senior jail officer.

The reason cited by the government was that the Lucknow jail, comprising District Jail, Model Jail and Medium Security Jail, would be shifted to Gosaiganj.

But before the demolition could begin, a PIL threw spanner in the works, alleging that the government was doing all this only to make more space for its Kanshi Ram Sthal.

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