Fear Of Ghosts Looms Large Over Tihar Jail’s Women Inmates

In a peculiar instance, the women inmates of Tihar Jail at Barrack Number 6 have complained of hearing women inmates screaming at two in the night every night. Some of the inmates have even reported that they have seen a glimpse of a woman wailing mysteriously, scaring them out of their wits, TOI reported.

“Some say they are slapped for doing something that's bad. Others feel haunted by late-night wails. When they are able to sleep, they claim to have common, eerie nightmares,” said an official. Prison authorities are doing their bit to calm the inmates down by holding puja, counselling sessions and medical check-ups and supplying religious scriptures to inmates who need to be provided solace.

“In the morning, some inmates complain of severe headache or nausea, allegedly after a horrifying night. Keeping our personal views aside, we send them for medical check-ups on the premises itself for medicines to be prescribed. At times, when the medical supervisor finds it necessary, inmates are also sent to the nearby Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital,” said an official. While the Jail authorities have various counselling sessions in association with NGOs and AIIMS doctors, increasingly inmates are complaining of seeing ghosts on the premises.

“Some woman prisoners might have committed suicide earlier inside the jail due to which they are hearing these alarming cries,” some people said.

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“The woman who committed suicide must have been innocent that's why she cries at night,” the other said, India TV reported.

“Some say they are slapped for doing something that's bad. Others feel haunted by late-night wails. When they are able to sleep, they claim to have common, eerie nightmares,” said an official.

However, nothing has been captured on the CCTV cameras but suicides by inmates, hangings within jail premises and killings of inmates in encounters and scuffles make for legitimate reasons for inmates to believe in ghosts in Tihar. Inmates have said that they have seen the ghost of Kashmiri separatist, Maqbool Butt who was hanged in 1984. They also claim to see Afzal Guru, another Kashmiri separatist hanged in 2013.

“I was lodged inside Jail No. 3 for about 15 months. Then I got bail. When I entered prison, I heard stories about ghosts. I thought I was being bullied. A few days later, I heard unusual voices at night. However, I didn't share it with anyone. But days later, I felt as if someone slapped me. That was the day when I decided to raise the issue with authorities,” said a man accused of a triple murder and is now out on bail. “They didn't believe me and thought that I am making it up,” he said.

Picture credit: Hindustan Times