The joint is aptly named The Café Prison Inc. Over the next few months, it will become a restaurant chain if plans of the jail department materialise. It will have outlets in many government offices and buildings.

"Construction of The Café Prison Inc will begin in a couple of months on a piece of government land close to Jail Bhajiya House near Subhash Bridge. Soon after, we will open outlets in government office premises in the city," said Inspector General of Prisons, Keshav Kumar.

The idea has its genesis in the famous Bhajiya House in the Sabarmati Central Jail, which was opened in 1988 when the jail authorities were asked to put up a jail stall at a Gujarat government exhibition at the Police Ground in Shahibaug. The then jail superintendent, VT Gautam, had hit upon the idea of a chai and bhajiya stall, run and managed exclusively by the prisoners. It was an instant hit and remains that way even after so many years. The prisoners make the food and manage the sales from the outlet close to the jail.

The stall made Rs 75,000 in just three days and the higher officers were enthused to take it forward. The bhajiyas made by the prisoners soon attracted a sea of customers who would queue up outside the outlet everyday. Today, it has an annual turnover of over Rs 70 lakh.

It also made a whopping Rs 1.92 lakh from a special stall in the recently concluded Kankaria lakefront carnival, and Rs 28,000 and Rs 27,000 on both days of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit in January.

It was the success of the Sabarmati Jail Bhajiya House that got the Vadodara and Surat jails to replicate it. Although the central jail outlet had to be wound up, the one in Surat has been doing well for the last five years.

Ten percent of the profits from the eatery are deposited with the jail; the rest is used to procure raw materials and pay daily wages to the working inmates. The inmates working in the outlet are paid according to their skills and work positions. Half of the wages are given to convicts for personal expenses; the other half is deposited in the jail post office. It is handed over after their release.

The Bhajiya House has even produced speciality products. Targeting diabetic customers, it recently launched a special fenugreek (methi) puff. "This is selling like hot cakes. We sell more than 700 pieces a day," said the jail staff.

The jail authorities said only life convicts with exemplary conduct work in the stall. Four teams of ten convicts each work in rotation for a month. None of these 'dreaded' criminals serving life terms for offences like multiple murders had ever attempted to flee.

The men tell you why. "I get to meet and spend time with my family during my furloughs. Why should I even think of escaping from here, to be caught and sent to some other jail to spend even more time?" said Ganaji Thakore (34), who is serving a life sentence for a murder 15 years ago.

The Jail Bhajiya House also serves delicious fafdas and jalebis, along with the trademark bhajiyas. Thakore said he has saved more than Rs 20,000 from the job. "I get a daily wage of Rs 32 for working here. I could use the money to settle down when I am released," he said.

The former sarpanch of Erala village in Amreli, Dheru Hukka Bhuva (40) has now completed five years of his life term for murder. "Eat this; don't ask me about that incident," said Bhuva, offering a jalebi he had made.