In a welcome initiative, the Maharashtra prison administration on Wednesday allowed hundreds of women convicts and under-trials lodged in prisons across the State to meet their children on the occasion of Valentine’s Day.
Tweaking the prison rules a bit, the Prison administration allowed minor children to meet, interact and spend time with their incarcerated mothers from whom they have been separated for long periods. Confirming the concession given to the women prisoners on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, Maharashtra’s Additional Director-General of Maharashtra, B. K. Upadhyay said: “In the past, we used to permit children to meet their mothers through NGOs. But, this time around, we allowed children to meet their mothers on their own on the occasion of Valentine’s Day. We intend to make a regular feature on the Valentine’s Day from next year onwards”.
According to Upadhyay, the “children-mother” meetings were facilitated by the jail authorities in as many as nine Central Jails, 31 District Jails, 14 Open Jail and 172 Sub-Jails where women inmates are lodged. “Currently, we have a total of around 1,500 women and 30,000 male prisoners across Maharashtra in these jails,” he said. Mumbai’s Byaculla prison witnessed emotional scenes, as 55 young boys and girls met 50 women prisoners. “There were tears of joy as the children hugged the incarcerated mothers and chatted with the latter.
Thanks to the arrangements made by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the jail wore a festive look. The visiting children were given snacks and cold beverages. Upon their return, they were handed small gifts,” a prison official said.
The prison authorities facilitated a video- conferencing call between a jail inmate from Jammu & Kashmir with her children based in her home State. “The woman barely spoke, as she cried most of the time and touched the screen where her children, who could not make it to Mumbai for the meeting,” the official said.
“Many of the women prisoners turned emotional seeing their children after prolonged periods of separation. They sat with them, talked a lot, exchanged stories, played some games, ate and enjoyed together,” Byculla Women’s Jail Superintendent Aruna Mugutrao said in a brief statement issued later in the evening.