Yerawada Cental Jail inmates can now video call their relatives and lawyers
Following the directions, the jail authorities have been purchasing smartphones and till now at least 39 of 60 jails in the state have bought smartphones.
Yerawada Central Jail inmates can now contact their relatives and lawyers via a video calling facility. Following the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lawyers approached the court seeking a way to contact their clients in jail. The court ordered the jail authorities to facilitate a lawyer-relative –inmate interface through the video calling facility.
Following the directions, the jail authorities have been purchasing smartphones and till now at least 39 of 60 jails in the state have bought smartphones. The Yerawada jail administration has bought two smartphones while Kolhapur jail has obtained five smartphones, Nashik has four, Mumbai has two, Thane has three while Taloja has three smartphones.
“Visiting jails was prohibited during the lockdown period and this smartphone-based video calling facility has been extended to the lawyers and relatives. The facility assists for lawyer-inmate interaction which is strictly monitored as per the jail norms. The video calling facility has already been started,” said Yerawada jail superintendent UT Pawar.
To avail the facility, heir family members or lawyers need to send an email seeking appointment for the inmate and get themselves registered for the monitored video calling. Once the registration is complete, the authorities will inform them about the date and timings of the video conference.
Once all the formalities are completed, video calling can take place in presence of jail authorities. The practice of communication between lawyers, relatives and inmates had been stopped due the coronavirus outbreak. Earlier, a meeting used to be organised at the jail campus as per the established procedure.
Pawar said that dedicated email ids had been shared with the lawyers and relatives wherein they send in their appointments which is verified by the jail authorities. Yerawada jail has a capacity to house 2,449 inmates, but currently has at least 6,000 inmates.
Advocate Milind Pawar, said, “This is a good step by the jail authorities as it prevents in-person meets which is not advisable during Covid-19. Meeting the accused lodged in the jail is mandatory for the lawyer and this was not taking place due the lockdown. This video calling facility is safe and meets the guidelines of the state government and is helpful to both the lawyer and the inmate,” he said.
Coin box-based video calling
The jail authorities have also received directions to start a coin box-based voice calling facility for the inmates. With the implementation of the said facility, the inmates will be able to speak directly to their relatives through the coin box facility.The state jail authorities have purchased 60 such coin boxes and are in the process of procuring more to cater to the needs of all the jails in the state.
What is the process?
- A dedicated email id has been generated for each state prison
- The lawyers and relatives must log on the website www.mahaprisons.gov.in to put in their request
- yerwadacp1871@gmail.com is the dedicated email id for the Pune Prison
- Lawyers/ relatives should include the name, barrack number and case details and send it to the email id mentioned above
- The jail department informs them about the date and timing for the interaction
- Current interaction is limited to 10 minutes only