Thiruvananthapuram: DGP (prisons and correctional services) R Sreelekha has criticised the
home department for not being sensitive to the demands of the
prisons department.
Speaking about the limitations, progress and future priorities of the working of jails at the penultimate session of the correctional seminar organized by the department here, Sreelekha said that the department has become 'liberal' in providing paroles to the inmates because of the overcrowding in the prisons in the state.
She also said that the police had been showing reluctance in many cases to escort the inmates to courts. The victims of this
apathy is those who are caught for petty crimes. They have to spend time in jail despite bailable charges as the police wouldn't escort them to court.
"I had even written to the state police chief in this regard, but nothing has come out of it," she said.
Sreelekha said that there are many prisons that are running short of vehicles, especially ambulances.
"There are even jails where there are no ambulance services available at all," she said. The prisons chief was stressing that basic infrastructure requirements in the department needed to be addressed first before attempting to reform the department.
