March 25, 2020
Surat: Expressing great concern for the prisoners imprisoned, wrote letters to the Supreme Court and the Gujarat and Rajasthan High Courts. In times of epidemic, the Supreme Court has allowed each state to release parole prisoners with a sentence of 7 years or less. The Gujarat government has not released a single prisoner from jail. There is a senseless government.
Advocate Govind D. Mar, “pointing to the prisoners of the Supreme Court and other high court jails, said that in times of epidemic, prisoners should be released on parole, preventing the transition. If inmates are more than capable, they are more likely to be infected with the corona virus.”
Mer said, “A report from 21 of the 38 prisoners in a New York jail has come positive for Corona. In keeping with the general principle, every court should release prisoners. Inmates are being freed from many prisons in India. Rajasthan and Punjab have decided to release the prisoners soon. Required to be released on bail or even payroll.”
GOVERNMENT REPORT SAYS
Female prisoner
The state has a capacity to accommodate 12,228 prisoners, compared to 12452 inmates. (As of 2017) and it accounts for 52% of prisoners for women in prison. In today’s sub-jail, 22% more than the capacities of the prisoners are 50% of the total 10 or less educated, 6% graduate and 2% postgraduate. While 141 inmates became victims of mental illness. The proportion of young inmates in prison (up to 50 years) is 86%. 13% of prisoners are over 50 years of age.
Age
There are 1842 accused in the total 28 prisons of Gujarat whose age is 18-30 years. In addition there are 1836 prisoners aged 30-50 years. There are 865 prisoners over the age of 50. Thus, 42.8 per cent of the prisoners in Gujarat are youth. Gujarat has 3217 inmates educated. While 1082 prisoners are illiterate. The standard is 2159 prisoners less than 10 educated. There are 685 inmates with less than graduation. In addition there are 254 prisoner graduates.
So there are 20 prisoners who have technical degrees and diplomas and 99 are prisoners who are post graduates. There are more prisoners in captivity in Gujarat than in captivity.
Overcrowded in prison
There are 7989 inmates in the Central Jail against a capacity of 7740 inmates. Apart from this, the district jail has a capacity of 3437 inmates including 2992 inmates. 1433 prisoners are being sentenced to life in prison against 1168 capacities in Subjail. So the number of prisoners in sub-jails is 122 percent. Thus, there has been talk of greater numbers of prisoners in the state’s central jails and sub-jails than inmates.
Emancipation of elderly prisoners
On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, 158 inmates who were sentenced to life in prison in Gujarat were released from jail.
It has been decided to waive the punishment of prisoners who are in prison who are 55 years of age or above and who have completed 50 percent of their sentence. Including 5 male prisoners aged 60 and over, including a woman. In addition, 381 other prisoners who received 66 percent of their sentence, ie two-thirds of their prison term.
Steps in the jails of Gujarat
The jail system has also imposed necessary restrictions to protect 13,000 prisoners in 25 jails in Gujarat from this epidemic. In-person visits, prisoners are “videoconferenced” in the presence of a tiffin at home, putting ‘cuts’ in the courtroom. The drug is being sprayed. So far no corona has been affected. Corona Isolation Ward has been prepared at Sabarmati Jail. Medical teams for the maintenance of prisoners’ health, besides the necessary hygiene, are seeking the help of serviceable organizations to enhance immunity. The body temperature is checked by first scanning each new entrant in the state jail including Ahmedabad. The jails have a staff of about 93 doctors. Masks have also been given to prisoners and prison guards. Prison staff is also being scanned.
Demand for a re-use mask made by a prisoner in jail for Rs
Prisoners in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Vadodara jails have begun making masks of cotton cloth. The masks made at the jail are on sale for only Rs 10. With the introduction of ‘masks’ for prison staff and prisoners, the mask is now being sold at a jail store in Sabarmati for the needs of the citizens, the jail system said.