Pinarayi calls for protecting rights of prisoners

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday that jails should match the developments that a civilised society has attained. He was addressing a review meeting on the functioning of jails in the state.

Noting that timely changes have not caught up in jails, he said the rights of the inmates in jails should have to be protected. The jails in the state are overcrowded, Vijayan said and added that about 5,000 trial prisoners were languishing in jails.

He asked the officials to take steps to properly understand the issues of inmates and take timely action to addresses them. The Chief Minister said the officials should try to implement the jail reforms recommendations.

With a lot of inmates having stress-related issues, he asked the officials to ensure the service of a psychiatrist, psychologist and counsellors in jails. On the new jails at Malampuzha and Muttam, he said these jails would be inaugurated soon.

Pinarayi said that food manufacturing units in prisons should be increased and has to look forward for more marketing of the products.

The possibility of installing video conferencing facility in more jails is under consideration, he said, while calling upon the officers concerned to think of installing solar panels in jails. Home Additional Chief Secretary Subrato Biswas, CM’s chief principal secretary Nalini Netto, Jail DGP R Sreelekha were present at the meeting.