Kendrapara, March 30: A four-year-old baby girl, who had to remain confined for two years in a prison cell, finally savoured freedom.

Following consistent intervention of the local prison authorities, the tiny toddler named Poonam has been set free from the jail and was shifted to a children's home.

The girl's parents, Bijoy Ketan Pattnaik and Rina Pattnaik, were imprisoned in connection with a murder case in 2012. At that time, the child was 18 months old when her parents were taken into custody at Kendrapara jail as undertrial prisoners. Since then, Poonam had been spending her infancy in the women's cell of the jail, along with her mother.

The prison walls might have hindered the spontaneous movement of Poonam, who otherwise seems to be an extremely playful girl. The child should have been provided shelter at a baby care home but was forced to stay in the jail due to legal wrangles.

"The girl was lodged with her mother in the jail according to the court order. However, Kendrapara jail has no school for children, and raising a child here is not conducive at all," said jail superintendent Biren Sahu.

"Her parents had given written consent to shift the baby to a childcare home. The child had gone restive during her stay in the prison. The jail surroundings were hindering her growth. With the grievance petition of her parents, we requested the additional district and sessions' judge court to discharge the child. Luckily, the court accorded sanction to the petition, and the child was sent to a childcare home," Sahu said.