Counsellors at Shakti Dhama, the Home for Destitute Women, which has become the temporary home for Shirin Taj, one of the convicts released from Mysuru jail on good conduct, hope to reunite the latter with her family. Ms. Taj, a native of Srirangapanta, returned to the jail on Wednesday within hours of her release, after she was disowned by her family.
Counsellors at Shakti Dhama, where the jail authorities had sent her, said that they will make efforts to trace her children through the police. “If her children are traced, we will meet and counsel them and reunite with her,” a representative of Shakti Dhama said.
Ms. Taj was looking forward to spending the rest of her life with her three children, who had been alienated from her after her husband’s death.
Ms. Taj had served a prison term after she was convicted for her husband’s murder about 14 years ago. Ms. Taj’s children were told by her in-laws that she was dead.
Though put up at Shakti Dhama, Ms. Taj has also expressed her desire to live independently.
Meanwhile, P. V. Nanjaraj Urs, a member of Mysuru Jail Advisory Board, said that the State government should put in place a system for rehabilitation of released convicts.
He suggested that the prison authorities keep aside a small amount of their wages earned in jail and add a matching amount on the lines of Provident Fund so that the convicts are given a lump sum amount on their release. The amount can be used by the released convicts as a capital to set up a small business, he said.Also, the government should facilitate sanction of loans by various State-run financial corporations to the released convicts. He recalled the existence of a Released Prisoners’ Rehabilitation Society during the tenure of Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. The society would arrange for the rehabilitation of the released convicts three months in advance, he said.
People’s Legal Forum convenor Baburaj said that the jail authorities should prepare a rehabilitation plan for the released convicts as mainstreaming them into the society was part of the criminal justice administration system.
“In most cases, the released convicts carry a stigma and face the society’s rejection. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that they lead a dignified life after their release from jail,” he said.
