Vellore Central Prison (Set up in 1830) is a prison in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
It is the largest Jail in the dist. and 2nd largest in Tamil Nadu after puzhal central prison, Convicts sentenced to imprisonment are confined in the jail from various districts of the Presidency as well as from Burma. Many prisoners sentenced to transpiration by the courts of this Presidency are retained when considered physically unfit for deportation to Andaman. The expenditure in the jail is recovered by the value of the convict labour.
The chief industry carried out in the jail is weaving. A great variety of clothes of various patterns as well as table clothes, gunnies, choir mats, carpets etc. are woven. Central jail is famous for its carpets. The manufacture was first taught to the convicts by a carpet weaver of Ellore. The fabrics are excellently woven and find ready sale in England. Carpentry, shoe making, iron and brass work and tent making are also carried on and the prison is well worth a visit.
By extreme hard work and good conduct, convicts may earn a remission not exceeding 1/6 of the total period of imprisonment awarded them.
There is a small sub jail attached to the central prison to accommodate the remand and under-trail prisoners of this dist. They will be sent to the concerned courts on the dates under Police Escorts. The prison is protected by a live wiring fence.
People of significance who were imprisoned here include
| Sl no | Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allama Mashriqi | Founder of Khaksar Tehrik, imprisoned in March 1940 |
| 2 | Sri Wikrama Rajasinha | The last king in Sri Lanka |
| 3 | C. Rajagopalachari | Last Governor-General of India, for his role in India's freedom struggle |
| 4 | V. V. Giri | President of India, for his role in India's freedom struggle |
| 5 | R. Venkataraman | President of India, imprisoned in 1941 for his role in India's freedom struggle |
| 6 | C. N. Annadurai | Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, imprisoned in 1962 |
| 7 | K. Kamaraj | Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| 8 | Vinoba Bhave | Indian advocate of Nonviolence and human rights |
| 9 | Jayendra Saraswathi | Shankaracharya of Kanchi, under custody in 2004 under charges of murder |
| 10 | Murugan | Sentenced to death for assassinating Rajiv Gandhi |
Famous quotes containing the words central and/or prison:
“Incarnate devil in a talking snake,
The central plains of Asia in his garden,
In shaping-time the circle stung awake,
In shapes of sin forked out the bearded apple....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“But neither milk-white rose nor red
May bloom in prison air;
The shard, the pebble, and the flint,
Are what they give us there:
For flowers have been known to heal
A common man’s despair.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)