Chandigarh: "Animals." That is a how a woman advocate at the Sector 43 district courts complex describes the behaviour of inmates of Burail Model Jail when they see a woman.
Men imprisoned in the high-security jail make the small transit for court hearings — from the prison in Sector 52 to the courts complex in Sector 43 — a tough one for each and every woman who crosses their path, say lawyers. Even as a district court here has framed charges against 7 inmates of the jail for allegedly passing lewd remarks at women prisoners and then policewomen who came to their rescue on October 20, lawyers at the courts complex say it is routine for undertrials to utter choicest of abuses and make obscene gestures at women.
Though the Supreme Court has directed all jails to act as reformatory homes, this does not seem to be the case at Burail jail. A lawyer who practices at the Sector 43 courts complex, Pratibha, said it was common for undertrials to abuse and pass lewd comments. "No sane person can stand with when the jail van carrying them when it reaches here; t also sing suggestive and abusive songs. I feel their energies are not channelized in prison, so they vent out their frustration over here," she said.
Another lawyer, Ravinder Sharma, says the undertrials behave no less than animals. "It is unfortunate. I have noticed that they are rude only when they are brought together. Otherwise, when they are brought to court one by one, they behave normally," he said.
A clinical psychologist at PGIMER, Prof Adarsh Kohli, calls the prisoners' behaviour a result of "overstimulation". "They have not seen the outside world for long and not been touch with the world, so they tend to get excited and pass lewd remarks. It can also be frustration. It may be, basically, a trait of their personality that becomes apparent when faced by a changed environment. In this, being away from the usual, closed jail cell," says Prof Kohli.
Men imprisoned in the high-security jail make the small transit for court hearings — from the prison in Sector 52 to the courts complex in Sector 43 — a tough one for each and every woman who crosses their path, say lawyers. Even as a district court here has framed charges against 7 inmates of the jail for allegedly passing lewd remarks at women prisoners and then policewomen who came to their rescue on October 20, lawyers at the courts complex say it is routine for undertrials to utter choicest of abuses and make obscene gestures at women.
Though the Supreme Court has directed all jails to act as reformatory homes, this does not seem to be the case at Burail jail. A lawyer who practices at the Sector 43 courts complex, Pratibha, said it was common for undertrials to abuse and pass lewd comments. "No sane person can stand with when the jail van carrying them when it reaches here; t also sing suggestive and abusive songs. I feel their energies are not channelized in prison, so they vent out their frustration over here," she said.
Another lawyer, Ravinder Sharma, says the undertrials behave no less than animals. "It is unfortunate. I have noticed that they are rude only when they are brought together. Otherwise, when they are brought to court one by one, they behave normally," he said.
A clinical psychologist at PGIMER, Prof Adarsh Kohli, calls the prisoners' behaviour a result of "overstimulation". "They have not seen the outside world for long and not been touch with the world, so they tend to get excited and pass lewd remarks. It can also be frustration. It may be, basically, a trait of their personality that becomes apparent when faced by a changed environment. In this, being away from the usual, closed jail cell," says Prof Kohli.
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