Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Oct 31: There are thousands of under trial prisoners in the prisons in Karnataka. The restrictions placed on meeting them, which was taken as a measure to ward off the spread of coronavirus infection, continue.

This has become a hurdle in continuing with legal processes in courts. Many have the provision to get released on bail but because legal processes have been kept on hold, they are compelled to spend months together behind the bars.

Representational image

The central government has relaxed lockdown rules for the fifth time. With restrictions, it has wallowed bars, temples, parks, movie theatres etc to operate during this period. But the families of under trial prisoners want them too to be allowed to meet their close ones who are inside the jails. They say that the government is responsible if the undertrials biome depressed at not being able to interact with their own people, and suffer from further consequences.

People linked with crime cases are arrested and produced in the court. Once they are remanded to judicial custody, the police bring them to the prisons and leave them there. Most of the prisoners have nothing but the clothes they have worn then. After the corona restrictions came into being, during the last some months, most of the under trial prisoners have suffered for want of clothing.

Even now family members cannot meet the prisoners but clothes and other basic necessities can be delivered through the prison staff. The staff check the things, record them, keep them under quarantine for a day, and then hand them over to the prisoners.

As there is no provision to meet family members, people who were engaged with minor offences have been unable to arrange for arguing their cases through lawyers in the courts. Thousands of such prisoners are waiting inside the walls to be released.

Home minister Basavaraj Bommai says that the prisoners will get to meet their family members as per rules once the corona infection subsides.