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New Indian Express

Kannur jailbreak reveals negligence among top officials of prisons dept

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the jailbreak of Govindachamy has raised questions on the safety aspects of prisons, equally glaring is the lethargy of senior officers of the Prisons Department. Highly-placed sources said senior officials, starting from Prisons Department Director General Balram Kumar Upadhyay, have been turning a blind eye towards the daily monitoring of the functioning of the prisons. As per the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Act, the Prisons DG should visit the central prisons and the high-security prison once every six months. This practice helps the DG personally take stock of the security situations inside the prisons and suggest measures to address them. However, the incumbent DG has been reluctant to visit prisons, sources said. The central prisons, open prisons, women prisons and the high-security prison have jail advisory boards that meet every six months. The norm that was keenly followed earlier was that the DGs would go the prisons to take part in the advisory board meetings so that both purposes- attending the meeting and jail visit- were served. However, in the case of the incumbent DG, he prefers attending the meetings, which are held offline, online.