Mathura jail bags its largest-ever order of Krishna dresses, designed mainly by Muslim prisoners

AGRA: UP’s Mathura district jail has bagged its largest-ever order for dresses, designed and stitched by a group of Muslim prisoners, that will adorn Lord Krishna idols across the country.
The jail recently received an order of 5,000 pieces of various dresses for Lord Krishna idols after the work of three Muslim inmates, assisted by two other Hindu tailors, was "appreciated in the retail market".
Confirming this, jail superintendent Brijesh Kumar said Mathura is the only jail in the state making Lord Krishna dresses as this place was selected for 'laddoo Gopal poshak' (dresses for child form of Lord Krishna) and 'kanthi mala' (a necklace worn by some adherents of Hinduism) under the government’s 'One District, One Product' scheme.
Murder convict, Mohammad Irshad (30), who has been in jail since 2016, leads the team of five, given the task to design these dresses. Seji (42) and Tasneem (28), the two other team members, are also accused in murder cases.
Irshad was convicted for the murder of a girl whom he loved. He threw acid on her after she refused to marry him. The girl was engaged to a boy in Dhaulpur and Irshad killed her to spur his love, said police.
According to prison officials, a Ghaziabad-based NGO, Hari Prem Society, had given them an initial order of 300 pieces which was successfully completed by the group. The work was appreciated by the NGO and the response from the retail market was good, leading to additional orders.
Jail superintendent Brijesh Kumar said, “Talks to sell these dresses on online platforms are on and if the deal goes through, these 'poshaks' may be available on Flipkart and Amazon.”
Kumar added that the prisoners are provided with all stitching materials and logistics.
“A labour cost is also paid to the convicts. It ranges between Re 1 and Rs 5 per piece, depending on the size of the 'poshak',” said Manjari Rathore, the NGO's secretary, adding that "the stitching and designs are of fine quality and no one can even sense that they were being made by prisoners."