Delhi's Tihar jail Director General Vimla Mehra, the second woman to serve as the DG after Kiran Bedi, was today transfered by the Union Home Ministry.
Mehra has been transferred to Delhi Police, where she will now serve at a senior position. The Deputy Inspector General (prisons) Mukesh Prasad has been handed over the additional charge, senior jail officials told PTI.
She had taken over as DG of the south Asia's largest jail complex in August 2012. Mehra is said to have brought in many administrative changes in making Tihar more prisoner-friendly.
"She started the concept of Open and Semi-open Jails which is highly commendable. It gave the inmates a confidence and helped them develop a better personality. Her work for the Prisons Head Quarter and Jail beautification has highly been appreciated," an official said.
She also holds the honor of being the second police officer to head Tihar administration as the DG after Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer in the country.
Mehra also brought in changes in furlough rules that supported the demands of the inmates with setting up of a pre- release ward where prisoners will be kept six months before their term ends.
"Inmates had very high regards for her. Many of the inmates of the jail today refused to have food after they heard about the transfer of their Director General," said a source inside the jail premises.
Mehra, a 1978 batch IPS officer of the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT), has served the Delhi Police earlier in various capacities. Before taking over the reins of Tihar Jail, Vimla Mehra was also the DGP of Arunachal Pradesh.
