Roopantara: Equipping lifers for life out of jail
Prior to their release, experts will train these lifers to build their confidence.
Bengaluru: Eighty-four-year-old Varade Gowda from Tumkur was locked up in the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison for a crime he committed in 2004. He was sentenced to life and has already spent 12 years in the prison.
He will be among the 240 lifers, who will not only be prematurely released on the Republic Day, but also trained for the transition from the life inside prison to the outside world under a welare programme, “Roopantara - A Journey of Transformation”. This is the first of its kind initiative taken up the by Prisons Department in association with NGO Peacemakers.
Inaugurating the programme at the Parappana Agrahara jail on Saturday, Home Minister Dr Parameshwar said, “After spending years in the prison, lifers lack self-confidence and have a sense of fear in them.”
Prior to their release, experts will train these lifers to build their confidence. The prisons department will also follow up with these released prisoners to ensure that they have settled down with their families and were living in harmony with society, Dr Parameshwar said.
Mr Rabbi Jayakaran, chairman, Peacemakers, said, “In the camp, we will profile the inmates by interviewing them. We will dig out their skills and what they are capable of. Experts will counsel and motivate them."