The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Celebrations behind bars with family

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Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Celebrations behind bars with family

R. Rajaram

For prisoners, the joy of meeting their family members on festival day turned out to be a celebration in itself

— File Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam

Serving a host: A view of Tiruchi Central Prison.

TIRUCHI: For a section of inmates of the Tiruchi Central Prison, the joy of meeting their family members and visitors on Deepavali festival day turned out to be a celebration in itself.

For the first time the visitors were permitted to meet the inmates on account of the festival, despite the day being a prison holiday for the jail authorities.

Usually, visitors are allowed to meet inmates only as per the schedule fixed on working days – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for remand prisoners, and Tuesdays and Thursdays for convicts. The Central Prison here accommodates over 2,000 prisoners.

By virtue of the special privilege granted by the Director General of Police (Prisons) R. Nataraj, the prison authorities here permitted visitors even on the eve of the festival, though a Sunday.

Forty four visitors turned up on the festival day to meet the prisoners at the prison. On Sunday, there were 17 visitors, the Superintendent of Prison, Central Prison, Tiruchi A. Murugesan told The Hindu on Tuesday.

The prison authorities, on their part, also distributed new clothes to the children of women prisoners lodged in the Special Prison for Women here.

As many as 23 children, in the age group one to four years, are being looked after by their mother inside the Special Prison for Women.

The breakfast menu for the prisoners on the day of the festival was rava kesari served along with Pongal, sambhar and coconut chutney. Non-vegetarian inmates enjoyed the extra dish of Chicken biryani during meals.

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