KOCHI: Though Kerala has made a big leap on the development front, the jails here remain in poor condition. As part of reforms in jails, the state government had constituted a committee headed by A P Udayabhanu 19 years ago. But, the committee’s recommendations still remain on paper. The condition of the jails in Ernakulam district is very pathetic compared to that of other jails in the state. Recently, Director-General of Prisons Alexander Jacob had stated before the High Court that the plans to modernise the facilities and the security system in jails have suffered major setbacks. “There were recommendations from the jail officials to install Closed Circuit Televisions (CCTVs) to monitor the prisoners. The CCTVs would help in keeping surveillance over the employees of the jail too. They would help in knowing whether the prisoners are being helped by the jail employees,” said Alexander Jacob. Surveillance System Alexander Jacob said the department proposed to extend the surveillance system, on the lines of the ones installed at Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram Central Jails, to other jails also. “This will require more funds. The introduction of modern facilities will help curtail homosexuality among the prisoners and avert scuffles among jailbirds to a great extend,” he said. During the recent raids held on the jails across the state, over 120 mobile phones were seized from prisoners. Despite this, mobile jammers have not been installed in the jails in the district which accommodate more than 250 prisoners, including hard-core terrorists. “The department had installed mobile jammers in the Central Jail at Kannur. The functioning of the system, developed by Keltron, was not up to the mark owing to certain technical limitations. The department is looking for more sophisticated versions of jammer. If selected, we would install them in other jails,” Alexander Jacob said.Medical Officers There was a recommendation to create the post of medical officers with supporting staff in jails where over 100 prisoners are confined. “This will reduce the chances of misuse of the ‘outside hospital facilities’ by the prisoners. In jails like Ernakualam sub-jail, where hard-core terrorists are housed, the jail authorities have to rely on outside hospitals for medical aid. This is a problem as many doctors are not ready to come to jails to examine prisoners. A separate medical wing is required in the jails,” a jail official said.“There are 203 inmates in the Ernakulam District Jail which is more than its capacity. The government sanctioned the post of a medical officer at the jail considering the huge number of inmates. However, no appointment has been made so far. We depend on doctors from other hospitals to carry out medical examination,” said jail superintendent B Sunil Kumar.Body Scanners There were moves to install body scanner at the main gate of every jail to find out illegal trafficking of articles such as ganja, ampoules and mobile phones. The prisoners who are under remand and trial are housed in the jails in Ernakulam. They have to be produced in court and police stations frequently. However, there are no body scanners for this. The situation is not different in the other jails too. Besides lack of modern equipment, the shortage of employees is also severe. “The number of prisoners has crossed 120 in every jail. At present, three or four guards have to attend all duties related to security, medical aid, food and providing other amenities to the prisoners. The shortage of staff contributes to smuggling of items into the jail,” officials of the Ernakulam District Jail said.Video-conferencingSystemThe video-conferencing system connecting courts and the jails was started in five districts, including Ernakulam. But, owing to a technical snag, the video-conferencing system in the Ernakulam district jail has stopped functioning.“Our prison has not become fully operational yet. It was started just six month ago. The Ernakulam sub-jail can only accommodate prisoners held in terrorism cases. Hence the other jails in the district, including the District Jail, have become overcrowded. The problem with the system will be rectified soon,” an official of the Kakanad District Jail said.
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