Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Situation in jails not serious: Chandy

Special Correspondent

Problems like staff shortage will be solved soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that the situation in the jails in the State is not serious though some problems exist.

Talking to mediapersons after a Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said the situation was not beyond control. Problems like staff shortage will be solved soon.

Mr. Chandy said he had not personally received any intelligence reports that there was possibility of clashes in some jails.

Replying to questions, he said that if local branches of the CPI(M) were functioning in the Kannur Central Jail, that was not right. He was responsible for transferring some prisoners belonging to the CPI(M) back to the Central Jail after they had been shifted to other jails following a murder in the jail. This was done on representations from members of the Assembly and assurances that there would not be further trouble in the jail.

He said that further steps were needed for improving security in jails and facilities available to prisoners. As a humanitarian measure, he had ordered that prisoners be allowed to contact their families over phone from jail in the presence of jail officials. Mobile phone has not been permitted.

Asked whether mafia gang leaders would not use the phone facility to send out messages to their gangs, the Chief Minister said the matter could be reviewed if required. A more liberal approach is called for regarding paroles and facilities for prisoners. Provision of such facilities does not amount to protection of criminals with political links.

He admitted that some of the recommendations of the Jail Reforms Committee were yet to be carried out.

Sex scandal case

Referring to the demand made by Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan that the prosecutor in the ice-cream parlour sex scandal case be removed, the Chief Minister said the charge sheet was one prepared by the LDF rule. Former Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty has not been cited as an accused in the charge sheet. This has been challenged unsuccessfully up to the Supreme Court. If anything was wrong with the charge sheet, the LDF Government was responsible.

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