All the five convicts, including an accused in the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case, who took the Plus-Two public examinations from the Coimbatore Central Prison have passed. The results were announced on Friday.
With enthusiasm for academic activities increasing among inmates, the prison authorities were now planning to extend the facility of attending public examinations to remand prisoners as well.
At present, this was restricted to convicts, K. Anandan, Superintendent of Prisons, Coimbatore Central Prison, told
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“We bring in lecturers from colleges, Tamil Nadu Open University and even the Indira Gandhi National Open University to take classes. Prisoners taking such classes are granted half-day exemption from work. Some prisoners who had completed graduation, also conducted classes,” he said.
Awareness programmes were held among prison inmates to encourage them to take up academic activities. J.K. Tripathi, formerly the Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) and at present the Chennai City Commissioner of Police, had reviewed the Plus Two examination arrangements during his visit to Coimbatore Central Prison a few months ago, added Mr. Anandan.
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All the five convicts were undergoing life imprisonment for murder and other serious charges.
Top scorerThe top scorer was Ethiraj who scored 836 marks.
The second place went to Mohammed Azam, a convict in the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case, who scored 824. Sundaresan came third with 878 marks.
The remaining two convicts are Vanchimuthu (868) and Ajai Kumar (715).
The Coimbatore Central Prison had a total of 1,636 inmates including 915 convicts, 419 remand prisoners, 175 under trials, 90 detainees under Goondas Act and a death row inmate, whose sentence was recently reduced by Madras High Court to life imprisonment.
Further, the prison also had 28 women remand prisoners and eight women under trials.
A total of 54 inmates of prisons across the State took the Plus Two public examinations this year.