Hyderabad: Prisons turn rehab centres

Hyderabad: Most people who were sent to jail last year were drunk drivers caught during enforcement drives. Over 12,000 motorists were caught for drunk driving by the traffic police personnel and were jailed by the courts for Motor Vehicles Act violation.

Briefing the media on the data, Director General (Prisons) V.K. Singh on Thursday said that the prisons department’s industries earned about Rs 17 crore in 2018, up from Rs 1.5 crore in 2013. The industries include Ayurvedic villages, petrol pumps, My National outlets. The total turnover of the prison’s industries in 2018 was about Rs 495.85 crore, and the net profit was Rs 17 crore. 

Mr Singh said the department had the intention of improving the prison industries.

“In the last five years, over 1.32 lakh prisoners turned literate and in 2018 alone, as many as 22,639 persons turned literate. About 745 prisoners are employed at prison industries,” Mr Singh said.

He said the department had received 15 complaints from prisoners of which only one was about corruption. The complainant was given a reward of Rs 10,000. 
He said Anand Ashram, the prisons department initiative, now sheltered 240 homeless persons.

Mr Singh said a proforma is being prepared to collect information on education and health of the jail staff and their family members.

In a step towards reduction of recidivism, Mr Singh said 32 teams were deployed, one in each district, to monitor the released prisoners and potential criminals.

“As of now, 5,608 prisoners are confined in jails of whom 2,081 are convicts, 3,228 are undertrials, 299 detainees and 406 female prisoners. The department has ensured that 34 prisoners who were freed last year were given loans to help them start a means of livelihood.”