Srinagar, Mar 3, KDC: In a first, Saba Shawl, a Kashmiri woman officer, has been appointed Superinten Prisons Department.
The posting was made through Government Order No. 145 Home of 2026 dated March 2, 2026. Under the order, Shawl was transferred from her previous role as Staff Officer to the Director General Prisons, J and K, and posted to head the high security jail with immediate effect.
Saba cleared the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission examination in 2012 for the post of Superintendent of Police Prisons after completing her master’s degree in social work. At a time when very few women joined uniformed services in the region, her selection was seen as an important achievement.
A resident of Peerbagh in Srinagar, Shawl started her career as a senior community development consultant and later worked with the Indo Global Social Service Society. She focused on capacity building and social work at the grassroots level. She appeared for the PSC examination, which had only one open merit post for SP Prisons, and successfully secured the position.
After her selection, she underwent six months of training before being posted to different jails in the Union Territory. In her early assignments, she served at Central Jail Kothbalwal in Jammu and Kupwara Jail, where she gained experience in prison administration and inmate management.
She later worked at the Prisons Headquarters, where she handled administrative responsibilities and also served as Public Relations Officer. During this period, she was involved in coordination, training programmes and departmental work.
Her appointment as Superintendent of Central Jail Srinagar, one of the important correctional facilities in Jammu and Kashmir, is being seen as a significant step for women officers in the department. Officials said her experience in field postings and administrative work prepares her for the responsibilities of the post. (KDC)
