Presidency Jail to soon get public telephone booths

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Ravik Bhattacharya

Posted online: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 at 12:40:41
Updated: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 at 12:40:41

Kolkata, April 01 Imagine prisoners talking over the phone with their near and dear ones from pay booths inside highly secured central jails. It may sound straight from a Hollywood blockbuster. But the scene will shortly become a reality in the state jails. As part of jail reforms, the state jail department has sent a proposal for allowing convicts to access telephone services in the jail.

Apart from providing relief to the family members of the convict, the step also aims to weed out rampant corruption in the jail interview system.

Of late, a number of cellphones were recovered from Presidency and and Alipore central jails. The authorities maintain the move will curb the tendency of rampant use of illegal cellphones inside jails.

“The model is based on jails in US and other developed countries. We have sent a proposal to the state government last month and I am hopeful that we will get the nod. We have proposed a pilot project in one of the central jails in the city to start with. Later, it can be replicated in all other jails. To use the phone booths, the convicts will have to pay up,” said B D Sharma, IG (Jails). “Only convicts will be allowed to use the facilities,” Sharma added.

According to the project plan, two to three booths will be set up inside the jails. The convicts will submit the number to the jail authorities days before they can call, which will be verified by the authorities and sanctioned. The jail authorities will then earmark a particular time and allow the convict to make the call.

“For security reasons, we will have facilities to record the conversation and particular officers will keep a close watch over the system,” said Sharma. The jail authorities have also started “booking interviews” through telephone in Dum Dum Central Jail last month.

Through the facility, family members call up designated officers in the jail who give them a particular date and time when they would meet the convict.

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