Kochi: The Home department has submitted before the Kerala High Court that because of the shortage of funds, video conferencing studios can be set up only in 160-170 jails. At present there are 238 jails in the state.
Home department Deputy Secretary J Unnikrishnan made the submission at a suo motu proceeding initiated by the court against the special privileges that ‘VIP’ convicts enjoy in prisons.
According to the home department, the implementation of the VC facility would reduce manpower as well as the expenses at jails.
According to the department, an average of 200 personnel can be exempted from duty in a day. The government can save huge money on prisoners bata and bus fare as well as traveling allowance of policemen, the affidavit said.
With the new move, chances of convicts trafficking in prohibited articles and drugs and media intervention in the case of high profile prisoners can also be avoided, the affidavit said.
Other factors pointed out by the department were the time consumed, the avoiding of inconvenience faced by the public due to the presence of a handcuffed prisoner with uniformed policemen as co-travelers in buses or trains.
The home department has already installed a CCTV system in six jails in three central prisons and three district jails. The department has already spent Rs 4.3 crore for the installation of the CCTV system in all jails in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts except Borstal school, Thrikkakkara women’s prison, Viyyur and jails in Thiruvananthapuram and jails in Kannur district except the central prison.
