Prisons in Maharashtra will see the revival of the coin box telephones that will allow undertrails to speak for five minutes with their families once a week.
Prisons in Maharashtra will see the revival of the coin box telephones that will allow undertrails to speak for five minutes with their families once a week.
The facility will benefit around 18,000 undertrials in Maharashtra prisons and is aimed at cooling them down and providing psychological support to them.
The coin box facility, previously available only to convicts, was launched for undertrails in Sangli prison on Tuesday and will soon be extended to all prisons in Maharashtra.
Swati Sathe, deputy inspector general (jail) of Maharashtra, said that the facility had earlier been available to around 10,000 convicts in the state.
“The facility to make a call to family members has been extended to undertrials, who can call family members once a week, for five minutes,” said Ms Sathe.
District collector Shekhar Gaikwad inaugurated the facility at Sangli prison.
“If the undertrials get to speak with their family members and get details of lawyers, it will work as a psychological support to them,” Mr Gaikwad said.
He added that the facility would help cool down undertrails who sometimes panic and at times turn violent.
Mr Gaikwad further added that the contact details would be first verified by the police and noted down by jail superintendents.
The undertrials would be allowed to make calls to verified numbers only. “The undertrials can use the money they earn from their work or money-order for making the calls,” Mr Gaikwad said.
