Black Warrant by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury Book Review

Black Warrant by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury Book Review 

Black Warrant is written by Sunil Gupta who was in charge of Tihar Jail. His experiences right from the time he took charge... till his retirement are terrifying, unique, and unbelievable. AC  laptop, phone girls, liquor are all available-in jail. All of this surprises him. 

He also feels bad about not being able-to do anything about the wrongdoings-in jail. We always view a culprit as a culprit. But Government doesn't view it that way. We should hate the crime that has been committed-and not the person who committed it. 

Criminals might also change and become good citizens. That opportunity should be given. We have to see if the opportunity is being utilized. If not, they can be punished. That is how the Indian justice system works. The reform activities in jail and who helps-in these reforms... 

The power politics on the inside. The difference in viewing-the prison from inside and outside. All of this has been accounted for in this book. The book has also been co-authored by Sunetra Choudhury-She has already written "Behind the Bars" which is about events in jail. 

This book contains lot of unexpected-and unacceptable truths. This book will give us a new perspective about convicts. What is "Black Warrant" all about? The warrant for Capital Punishment-is "Black Warrant" The warrant which contains the "Date, Place-and Time of hanging is known as "Black Warrant" When Sunil Gupta joined Tihar jail for the first time. the higher officer is reluctant to give him a warm welcome. 

He spots a well-dressed person while waiting outside. The other person asks why he is waiting outside-Sunil says that since there is already enough personnel-in jail, he is being asked to wait. The other person says he will talk to the higher officer. 

After his talk, the officer tells Sunil that he has-appointed for work. The person who made such a powerful recommendation-is not someone who works in Tihar jail. He is actually one of the convicts in jail. His name is Charles Sobhraj who had the Tihar jail-under his control at one point and was well aware-of the happenings in the jail. 

For sending legal documents more than the filing-by legal experts... filing by Charles Sobhraj ensured a win. He was very brilliant. But he was a convict, so he was in jail. We have also heard about Manu Sharma. There is a film titled "Who killed Jessica?" 

There is a party happening and when it is almost midnight... The bar is about to close. Jessica is still in the bar. It is a huge get-together party. Two guys come and ask for liquor at that time. Jessica refuses saying that the bar is about to close. 

A gun is pointed at Jessica with the demand-for liquor. Jessica still refuses. She is shot and dies on the spot. Jessica's friend was also there with her at that time. There were many high-class people in that party as well. 

Jessica's family is confident of getting the culprit punished-as there were many witnesses. But the people who were there at the party denied-being there when questioned. The gun goes missing as the evidence is tampered with. because Manu Sharma was a politician's son. 

So, proving that he was the culprit and getting-him convicted took many years. This was later made into a film titled "No one killed Jessica." Jessica died after being shot. The family of Jessica went through a lot of trauma-before Manu Sharma was convicted. 

But Manu Sharma doesn't suffer in jail as his Dad was rich. His Dad actually buys a five-star hotel near Tihar jail... Manu Sharma was provided food from the 5-star hotel. The people who worked in jail were given concessions-to make this happen. 

Though all of this may seem wrong to us. Yes, abuse of power is wrong and it is not fair either. Suppose a convict knows the law, he is given a space to use-that knowledge as part of the reform. Government is also doing it's best and implementing measures-which helps the convicts to get back their lives and mingle-with the society after their release from jail. 

Police Officer Kiran Bedi identified some good skills-of the prisoners. But when she looked for ways to develop that skill-she was transferred. Many officers have such thoughts which is one part-of the story. Convicts who had to spend less time in jail were-kept away from senior convicts. because they should not be brainwashed by senior convicts. 

There was a particular time when there were more convicts-in jail. 10 people slept in one room. On the other hand, a powerful convict had two jail cells-all to himself, one for him and one for his pets. He had written about this power bias which led to inequality-in jail. 

There were certain superstitions as well. Since Lord Krishna was supposedly born in jail, ladies-who were at the end of their pregnancy term would-indulge in conflicts and come to jail. because if the child is born inside a jail-it might turn out to be a boy child. 

That child is believed to be Lord Krishna himself. People desire water and mud from jail-to get rid of bad tidings in their life. There were many who came to jail because of such-superstitious beliefs. Though phones are snatched from convicts... 

The person wouldn't worry about losing a phone. The worry would be about having to spend money-to get another one. The person won't be without getting a phone. The phone would be arranged somehow. and the prisoner would eventually show off. 

The powerplay in the prison was always there. Whenever reform activities were carried on in Tihar jail... Their snack items were sold outside with the Tihar jail brand. The brain behind this was the politician's son Manu Sharma. 

He was the brainchild behind the TJ brand which-was created in order to provide work and also to-create awareness about the reforms in jail. There is another person who helps to file cases. The Jailers didn't have as much power as the police. 

Most of the time there wouldn't be much of a difference-between prisoners and the jailer. A prisoner might beat up a jailer. Many Jailers have died that way. These jailers were often protected by other prisoners. 

Their job was to keep the other prisoners under control. They were bodyguards to jail officials. So, most of the power was with the prisoners. If a new jailer comes to Tihar jail. There are certain formalities for them right from-the first day. These formalities are taught to them by other prisoners. Training was given to them by the prisoners. 

This was an eye-opener for me as I had a different view of jail. Prisoners can get everything in jail. But they would be a bit costly. All of this happened during the time the author-worked there. There have been many changes after that. When JNU university students were arrested in a bunch... Visitors could visit them without the wall acting as-a barrier as they were not actual criminals. 

Vistors could meet them directly. Vistors were stamped. and these visitors came to see the arrested students. After that visit, many students are missing. Upon checking, it is identified that the names given and the names-that have been listed are different. The students have been put in jail without even checking-their names. 

This is because of the loopholes in the system. The students escaped by interchanging the stamps using-their sweat. The security who is sitting outside couldn't even check-the discrepancy in count. There were big loopholes. If a prisoner falls ill, he has to be taken-to the hospital. 

If the prisoner dies without proper care-the jail officials will be questioned. If the queue is more the police who takes the prisoner-to the hospital will bring him back to jail. If no police is available, the prisoner can't be taken-to the hospital. 

These are the problems faced by convicts in jail. Women prisoners suffer without sanitary napkins. We always feel angry towards r***ists and murderers. But when a black warrant is given for a prisoner. 

The last minutes spent with them before hanging-are shared by the author. A human being has done something inhuman. Society won't accept them. But the human side of prisoners will definitely come out. Billa and Ranga are characters in famous Tamil films-But in real life, they were two horrible criminals. The two of them kidnapped a brother and sister. 

The brother was killed and the sister was r***d-mercilessly. The sister tried to escape nude. But the two men trick the girl-into believing that the brother is alive. She tries to dress up-but is unable to do so. 

She was forced to wear a pant and then was hit on-the head and killed. Billa and Ranga were two merciless men. They were hanged in Tihar jail. The names were first used to define mass first-in Telugu films. There was a film titled Billa Ranga. 

When asked if this was-a film based on real incidents, it was denied. The names were merely used as a marketing tool-which I felt was the dark side of cinema. The procedure on the day before hanging was this-Checking the weight. Checking the measurement of the rope. 

The prisoner has to die without pain while-being hanged. That is an important condition. There are accounts of expert hangmen-in this book. A father who is a hangman wants his son-to follow in his footsteps. Why is a black dress being worn while hanging someone? 

While hanging Billa and Ranga one of them didn't-die quickly... So, his legs were pulled to make him die. Nowadays post-moterm report is looked into-to identify the cause of death. For death should be horrible and it should be instant. 

Once Black Warrant is given the prisoner is put into-solitary confinement. No one can talk to them, family members can visit them-and an option is given to write the will. They take bath and drink tea before they are hanged-All of this felt different to me. 

The jail officials would have seen the other side of prisoners-apart from the crime they have committed. One such convict was a dangerous person by the outside world-But he had fought for the rights of the prisoners and earned-them the right to make a phone call. There were prisoners who were hanged without-informing anyone to prevent political unrest. 

There were families who were unaware of the hanging-of someone who was part of their family. The author talks about the arrest of Anna Hazare. The author tries to present the human side of familiar prisoners-whom we have known over the years. 

They were punished for their crime. The author uses Gandhiji's quote-"Hate the sin, not the sinner." The book is a recollection of true incidents in Tihar jail. The book is not for the weak-hearted. Please don't gift the book to anyone. 

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