At Simdega jail, wardens ask for a bribe of Rs 10 to allow visitors

At Birsa Munda Central Jail in the state capital, the going rate is Rs 50

Speaker receives calls from jails where phones are supposedly banned

Ranchi, March 27: The sorry state of affairs at prisons across the state came in for some serious discussion in the Assembly today, and since some MLAs spoke from first-hand experience of being inmates themselves, the irony wasn’t lost on anyone when, much later, the chief minister promised to look into their grievances.

It’s no laughing matter, insisted MLA Anosh Ekka, who has been lodged in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail for the last three years on corruption charges. “This is a matter of chance that I am behind bars. This is not a matter to laugh at… but here, everyone’s turn (to be lodged in jails) will come,” said the Jharkhand Party legislator from Kolebira.

Then came his gripe. “I am being provided vehicles that are not at all in good shape to attend House sessions,” he said, thereafter highlighting his concerns for those serving rigorous imprisonment terms. “Convicts are paid wages of Rs 14 to Rs 17 for a day’s work and this amount is too little.”

Speaker C.P. Singh suggested the MLA pen his experiences in the form of a book now that he had spent almost three years in jail — Anosh, a former minister, has been charged with amassing wealth (Rs 16.83 crore in three years) disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Former rebel leader and MLA Paulus Surin spoke of his experiences in Simdega and Chaibasa jails a couple of years back. “Jail officials collected Rs 10 as bribe from visitors who came to meet their wards,” said the former rebel leader now out on bail.

He was interjected by Geeta Koda, whose better half and former chief minister Madhu is also in Birsa jail now for around two and a half years. “In Hotwar, Ranchi, the rates are not as low as Rs 10. They charge Rs 50 per person,” said the Jagannathpur MLA, but did not elaborate on whether she had faced similar demands.

“Many people from my constituency pay regular visits to the Birsa jail in Hotwar to meet their wards. They have complained to me about such demands,” she said.

The Speaker had experiences to share, too. Intervening after Kanke MLA Ramchandra Baitha and Bagoder MLA Vinod Kumar Singh spoke about corruption and mismanagement in prisons, Singh recalled his stay for six months and four days in Ranchi and Hazaribagh jails during the Emergency.

Jail officials, he recalled, weren’t following rules while distributing food among prisoners.

Of late, the Speaker added, he had even received a call from jail which meant jammers weren’t doing the job they were supposed to. “The jammers at jails do not work. The jail authorities say jammers can block 2G mobile signals, but now everyone has 3G mobile phones. They forget that phones are not allowed inside jails,” he said.

It was left to HRD minister Baidyanath Ram to reply on behalf of chief minister Arjun Munda who holds the home portfolio. He tried to underplay instances of wrongdoing in jails by saying that he had never encountered a scenario when a warden sought bribes when he visited jails in his official capacity.

But the Speaker suggested he visit jails as a “common man” and not as a minister. “Only then will the facts come out,” Singh said.

Later, Munda said he would seek details from jail officials from across the state. “The matter is of a very serious nature,” he told The Telegraph. “I will ensure that respective jail administrations take it very seriously and bring about a change.”

The chief minister also pointed out that his government was working on a project to start video-conferencing among prisoners and their relatives which would ultimately resolve the issue.

Hopefully, the e-mulakati project would satisfy the likes of Koda and Surin.