The jails department has taken an initiative to free some of the inmates of the Presidency and Alipore correctional homes who are mentally ill.

?These inmates need not be kept in prison any longer. What they need is love, care and treatment,? said B.D. Sharma, inspector-general of the correctional homes. ?We have appealed to court that they be set free so that they can be either sent back to their families or admitted to an asylum for treatment.?

A panel of doctors appointed by the department has identified 24 prisoners, both male and female, as mentally ill. ?They have been languishing in jail for years without trial. Some are lodged since 1978. When we found this out, we immediately thought of freeing them,? said Sharma.

Following a declaration by the doctors, from the Institute of Psychology, that there was no chance of recovery for the inmates, the jails department got in touch with the National Human Rights Commission.

On June 3, after a seminar with doctors from Institute of Psychology and members of the rights panel, the department moved court pleading for the release of the 24 inmates.

An officer said the department is planning special arrangements for the women among the mentally-ill prisoners.

?While male prisoners always have their families to back them, women are mostly abandoned by their near and dear ones. The department is thinking of some arrangements for the mentally-ill female prisoners, so that they live a better life after being freed from jail.?

The department has also come up with plans for introducing psychological tests on all prisoners when they come to correctional homes.

?The practice has already been initiated in some of the homes. We plan to introduce it in other homes, too. If any prisoner is detected with mental illness, he or she will be immediately referred for treatment,? said an official of the department.

Prativa Sengupta, chief psychologist and coordinator of Sevac, an NGO working for the mentally-ill prisoners, said: ?The department should have done this long ago. A study among 4,000 inmates revealed that 10-12 per cent were mentally ill and the Mental Health Act states that they cannot be kept in prison.?