Bengal prisons top nation in foreign prisoners: NCRB data

Soumyadip Mullick | MP | 3 Oct 2025 | Kolkata: Prisons in West Bengal are grappling with one of the sharpest overcrowding crises in the country, according to the latest ‘Prison Statistics India 2023’ released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which revealed mounting stress on jails, women’s facilities, and prison staff, alongside a disproportionately high population of foreign inmates. 

According to the report, West Bengal leads the country in detaining foreign nationals. The state accounted for 2,508 foreign prisoners, the highest among States and Union Territories. This included 796 foreign convicts, making up 53.1 per cent of all foreign convicts nationally, and 1,499 foreign undertrials. Bengal’s tally far outstrips Maharashtra (773 foreign prisoners), Delhi (751), and Uttar Pradesh (481), underlining the scale of its challenge in consular access, translation, and legal aid.

Meanwhile, district prisons in Bengal reported an occupancy rate of 158.5 per cent, far beyond sanctioned strength. Sub-jails fared worse with 4,293 inmates, stretching occupancy to 176.8 per cent. Special jails designed for long-term confinement also ran at 197.8 per cent capacity with 1,157 prisoners, while even open prisons — meant for lower-risk offenders — housed 329 inmates, indicating no category has been spared the crunch. Women’s incarceration shows similar stress. 

The state’s only women’s prison recorded an occupancy rate of 110.2 per cent in 2023, reflecting overcrowding and pressure on services for women inmates and children living in custody with them. The pressure extends beyond prison walls. Inmates were escorted to courts 410,694 times in 2023, while hospital transfers touched 56,507, among the highest in India. Jail officials say the strain on security personnel and logistics is immense, often diverting resources from rehabilitation and reform programmes.

Experts have urged the state government to adopt urgent reforms, from expanding alternative sentencing and electronic monitoring to accelerating case disposal and strengthening infrastructure. “Without systemic change, overcrowding will only worsen, compromising both prisoner welfare and staff safety,” said a legal aid activist. 

The NCRB data has once again spotlighted the urgent need for reforms in Bengal’s custodial system, where high inmate volumes, long trial delays, and inadequate facilities continue to converge into a crisis.