Freedom still eludes two Kerala women, who recently jumped the jail fearing that they may be incarcerated for ever.
Despite being granted bail in the jailbreak case, Sandhya and Shilpa are still behind the bars as no one has come forward to stand as their sureties for securing bail. Jail-breaking, which they described as an act of desperation to escape the arms of law, landed the duo in further trouble. After escaping from the prison, they stole a two-wheeler to flee the scene, which ended up in the registration of another crime against them.
Sandhya is an 8th standard drop-out whereas Shilpa discontinued her studies after she failed in her class 10 exams. The two hail from poor families and have been arraigned as accused in two cases of cheating and theft.
The two runaway prisoners, who escaped from the Women’s Prison and Correctional Home at Attakulangara, Thiruvananthapuram, on June 25, were arrested the next day and brought back to the jail.
The jail jumping by two women prisoners, a first in the State, had led to the increase in security arrangements in the jails.
Abject poverty
The families of both the prisoners were living in abject poverty and miserable conditions, according to a report filed by para-legal volunteer engaged by the authorities.
Though the two were granted bail in the offence related to jail jumping, said those at the Trivandrum District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), no one came forward to stand as surety. The DLSA had extended legal support to the women when in jail and after the jail jumping episode too. The DLSA had also helped them to move their bail applications. However, the Authority cannot secure them sureties, said A. Jubiya, secretary, DLSA.
Since the two women are arraigned as accused in two more cases, they need to get bail in those cases. It can only be after obtaining bail in all these cases that they can walk out of the prison. In all these cases, someone should stand as a surety to ensure their presence in the court during the trial, the judicial officer said.
Usually, the family members would come forward for securing the release of under-trial prisoners on bail. The two women hail from broken families and their blood relatives and immediate family members have reportedly distanced from them after they got involved in criminal cases, which made the matters worse for them, judicial sources said.
