Now Tihar inmates can call up families

NEW DELHI - Tihar jail inmate Rohit Rajinder Singh spoke to his mother over phone, something he had been yearning to do for months. Singh was the first Tihar inmate to use the jail phone calling system which was launched Thursday.

The ‘Tihar Inmates Phone Calling System’ has been launched to ensure that inmates keep in touch with their families. It was inaugurated by Justice Madan B. Lokur, the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

After speaking to his mother, an elated Singh said: I am very happy. My father and friends used to visit me, but today I had a word with my mother. Nothing can be compared to that.

Expressing satisfaction on the inauguration of the system, Justice Lokur said: The phone calling system is a progressive development and should be opened in jails all across the country.

Stressing on the need to bridge the communication gap between inmates and their families, Justice Lokur said that even the Supreme Court has emphasised that inmates should not lose touch with their families.

Director General of Police (Jails) B.K. Gupta said: The telephone facilities will be available to all the inmates once in a week and shall be of five minutes duration.

Two numbers of any close relative is allowed per prisoner. The inmates would be charged Rs.50 per month for local calls and Rs.100 for STD calls, he added.

However, the inmates can only use the facility if they are not convicted in any anti-national activities or cases of murder. The scanned fingerprints of prisoners will be used as the identity card at the calling system which has a biometric scanner.