Ahmedabad:
Officials may not find any mobile phones or sim cards when they conduct the next raid in the Sabarmati prison, as the jail authorities have set up three public telephone booths there to enable prisoners to talk to their relatives and their advocates.
The telephone booths were inaugurated by an inmate considered to be the best painter in the prison.
Talking to DNA, additional director general of police (prisons), PC Thakur, said that three telephone booths have been installed at three different locations in the jail premises.
Thakur said that a telephone booth has been opened each at the women's yard, the under-trial prisoners' yard and the convicted prisoners' yard.
Thakur said that the telephone booths have been designed by National Institute of Design (NID) and the telephone connections have been sponsored by the BSNL.
"These booths will facilitate the prisoners to talk to their family members as well as their advocates at least twice a week," he said. He further said that Sabarmati Jail is the third jail in the country to provide such a facility.
Tihar Jail of Delhi and the Central Jail of Hyderabad are the two other prisons where such facility is available.
Giving details of the prisoners, superintendent, Sabarmati Jail, VM Parghi said that there are 2,000 convicted prisoners, 1,500 under-trial prisoners and 100 female prisoners there. One booth each has been set up in all the three main sections of the prison.
Parghi added that from now onwards, each prisoner will be allowed to make a call twice a week and each call can be of six minutes' duration. "We will follow all the guidelines of the jail manual while implementing this new facility," he said.
A person from prison staff will monitor the calls done by the prisoners by hearing the conversation on another receiver.
"A record of the details of the caller as well as the persons who receive such calls will be maintained in a separate register," Parghi said.
However, Parghi pointed out that the prisoners booked under Pota, Tada, anti-national activities, unlawful activities like prostitution etc will not be allowed to use the facility.
"It will be used for all the other prisoners, especially who have been acquitted or convicted for the first time and are not habitual to committing the crime," he said.
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