It does not look like a prison, cradled by mountains on all sides in the heart of Shimla. The Kaithu sub-jail traces its past to the British Raj, but what distinguishes it now is an open jail programme, part of a reform policy started four years ago. The prisoners are sent out for work within an 8-km radius in the city every day. They are selected based on their conduct in jail, the number of years spent inside and adherence to parole conditions.
“We mount an informal watch on them and in my experience, there have been only two instances when prisoners tried to escape but later were apprehended,” Chief Welfare Officer Bhanu Prakash Sharma says.
Bhupinder Singh, in his 40s, leaves at 7 a.m. for a spot near the busy intersection on the way to Mall Road. Here he sells biscuits made by inmates in the prison bakery. Kuldeep, 50, runs a popular mobile canteen near Indira Gandhi Medical Hospital, serving piping-hot dal, Rajma and kadi rice at ₹40 a plate. The prisoners talk of the freedom they enjoy while engaging with people outside. The money they earn goes partly to their bank accounts, while 15% goes to the Prisoner Welfare Fund.
The freedom comes to an end at 6 p.m. when they return. The iron gate firmly shuts behind them as dusk gives way to night. But again, the morning holds the promise of another breath of freedom.
Beyond bars: Inmates leave the Kaithu sub-jail in the morning for work, under an open jail programme.
Busy days: Serving a life term for murdering a fellow IIT student, Gaurav Verma rides to a coaching institute for a teaching job at the jail.
Hot from prison bakery: Convict Bhupinder Singh sells biscuits made by the inmates at a spot on the way to Mall Road in Shimla.
Trowel time: Kamal Sharma, right, and Deep Ram, both murder convicts serving life imprisonment, work as masons at the site of a new house in the Ghanahatti area.
Long hours: The convicts who manage the Book Cafe in Shimla are the only ones who have permission to stay at their workplace after sunset.
Jail rigour: The convicts return to a thorough security check at the prison entrance.
Eating al fresco: Kuldeep, a murder convict serving a life term, runs a mobile canteen near Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla.
Doubling up: Ram Lal, a murder convict serving a life term, works as a cook-cum-waiter at the canteen in the Police Headquarters, 5 km from the Kaithu jail in Shimla.