Arunachal Pradesh has finally got a jail of its own. The authorities inaugurated the state’s first ever jail at Jully Basti, about 6 km from capital Itanagar, on Tuesday afternoon. The first inmate to be housed in it was Majboor Rahman, an undertrial. He was among the 19 undertrial prisoners who were shifted to the jail from adjoining Assam.

The construction of the jail on a seven-acre plot was completed way back in 2004, but remained unutilised for various reasons. In between, miscreants had robbed the jail of some of its electrical fittings.

The jail incidentally is located close to a centre of the Art of Living, and according to jail superintendent Michi Paku, the authorities are contemplating utilising the services of the centre to impart yoga and other meditation lessons to the inmates. The jail, which has separate wings for women and men inmates, also has worksheds for imparting vocational training to the inmates. The jail has a capacity to accommodate 50 inmates.

Until now, Arunachal Pradesh has been sending its undertrials and convicts to jails in Assam, spending about Rs 50,000 per prisoner per annum. The state government was also facing criticism from human rights groups for keeping undertrials in lock-ups of different police stations in the absence of a jail.