Jail is where the home is for a few women in the State. When hundreds of prisoners, including the convicted and the undertrials, happily walked out the prisons for short paroles, a few women returned to the jail as they did not have a place to go.
A 40-year-old woman, housed at the Women’s Jail, Palakkad, was among the few prisoners who found the life inside the jail more comfortable than the one outside. Though the prisoner, who was released on self-bail, went to the house of a relative, she came back after a few days. She found the relative’s place uncomfortable to stay for the 45-day parole period and had no other place to go. She was unwelcome in her family as she had a dispute with her husband and was involved in a crime, according to jail authorities.
Three other women prisoners too returned immediately after being released.
1,500 released
As many as 1,500 prisoners, both men and women, were released from the jails for up to 45 days under the amnesty scheme announced by the Supreme Court to decongest jails in the wake of COVID-19 spread.
Around 50-odd are staying back in the prisons despite being released on bail or being eligible for the benefit, said S. Santhosh, DIG (Prisons Headquarters).
Many of the prisoners who opted to stay back were either accused or convicted in the offences involving their family members. With such offences booked against them, they would not be received by their family members or relatives, when released. With nowhere to go, they are forced to stay in the prisons, he said.
No transportation
While releasing the prisoners on parole, the jail authorities had to provide transportation for a few as public transport facilities were off the road. Some prisoners had to be dropped at Wayanad from the Kannur jail and a few others at Thodupuzha from the Thrissur jail. These prisoners were taken in the vehicles of the Jail department. Most of the prisoners arranged their own transport facilities, the jail official said.