Kerala   

Stress on need to step up surveillance in jails

Recent incidents in the Kozhikode district jail and the Kannur Central Prison have underscored the need for monitoring systems in jails, says Biju Govind.

Recently, clashes broke out at the Kannur Central Prison between prisoners serving life term. Two persons were admitted with injuries to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

At the Kozhikode district jail, two employees, including a senior warder, were injured when they intervened to stop a fight between undertrials in the Marad massacre case and other convicts.

Sources said the fight broke out following complaints that the undertrials in the Marad case enjoyed certain privileges. There are 137 undertrials in the Marad case interned at the Kozhikode district jail.

As of now, the jail staff comprises a superintendent, deputy superintendent, three assistant jailors, eight head warders, a welfare officer and 34 warders, out of which 18 are drawn from the Employment Exchange. These temporary warders change after a period of six months.

The total number of prisoners in the Kozhikode district jail is 430, although the authorised accommodation is for 255.Only convicts sentenced to a period of less than six months are interned in the district jail, while others are usually sent to the Central Prison in Kannur.

Following the clashes, two inmates of the Kozhikode district jail were shifted to the Kannur Central Prison last week. Earlier, two inmates had been shifted to the Kannur prison following a fight between undertrials over the issue of peddling brown sugar and ganja inside the jail.

The new Jail Superintendent, Sivadas K. Thaiparambil, who took charge on Monday, said measures were being taken to curb such incidents. Details, including the address, of all persons visiting the inmates would be recorded, he said.

Kozhikode District and Sessions Judge Thomas P. Joseph, who is also the chairman of the District Jail Committee, had submitted a comprehensive report on the irregularities taking place at the jail to the High Court of Kerala.

Last week, the Kerala High Court initiated a suo moto case on a complaint by an inmate of the Kannur Central Prison that inmates from political factions were manhandling prisoners and that jail officials were colluding with them.

Now the State Government has formulated a web-based monitoring scheme for the Central Prisons in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Viyyur, to be implemented within six months.

But, this scheme should be extended to the other jails as well considering the developments in the Kozhikode district jail.

The web-based monitoring of jails using wireless broadband Internet technology is hoped to curb the disturbances inside jails to a great extent.

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