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Districts asked to look for spaces to be used as temporary jails
While the men’s facility has 53 inmates, the women’s facility houses one person
Ten days after a temporary prison was started in Yerawada, the Maharashtra state home department has released a government resolution to set up such facility in all districts of the state.
Sunil Ramanand, additional director general, prison, Maharashtra will formulate the rules and operation of set-up. Narayan Shrikrishna Karad, deputy secretary, signed the government resolution.
In Pune, the facility is set up at the girls, boys hostel which is used by the students of school run by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (Barti). The organisation is run by the social justice and special assistance department of the state government.
The property is located at a quiet area close to the central jail. It is sprawling with trees and a lawn - a location apt for a school. However, the children’s rooms have now been occupied by inmates.
The staff quarters are located on the campus at a distance of 150 metres from the buildings that now house undertrials in cases ranging from petty theft to murder. While the men’s facility has 53 inmates, the women’s facility houses one person.
“We get one-day duty here. Our job is simply to man the gate which is the single entry point here,” said senior inspector Gajendra Jagtap of Pune police crime branch.
The jail staff manage the facility, but the security of the outer perimeter is the responsibility of the city police, Jagtap said.
“Initially, 80 boys and 80 girls from the school stayed here. These are students from primary school to Class 12. At the beginning of the lockdown, they were asked to leave with all their belongings. The school building and staff quarters are in the same premise,” said a security official on anonymity.
In April, the people arrested in Pune who were remanded to judicial custody, were taken to Satara jail. However, the inmates from Pune started testing positive for Covid-19, putting safety of all its inmates in jeopardy. The temporary facility got approval from the district collector office on May 3. The facility began operation on May 6, said officials.
