Prisons in state go digital, courtesy ex-convict

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, April 2

With the inauguration of the Phoenix software in Karnal jail by Additional Director General (prisons) KK Mishra, as many as 19 jails of the state went high-tech. A majority of activities in the jails will be carried on through computerised system, which will help to ease the burden of manual work.

The software designed by a software engineer (who was once in jail in a dowry death case and later acquitted from the charge) in association with two other inmates, will help jails to go high-tech.

“Three jails, including Palwal, Panipat and Rewari, are yet to be included in the system,” said the ADGP, adding all the information about the inmates could be assessed easily by the prison authorities.

“Jails have been equipped with fully automated digital management system. All prison activities, including entry and exit of inmates, cashless canteen, phone calling, OPD registration, medical counter and interview registration will be controlled through biometric finger scanning system. Earlier, these activities were done manually,” said Mishra.

“They are also planning to make the system online so that the details of inmates can be shared with all prisons easily,” he added.

Mishra said the Karnal jail was an example for the state, which has been adopting high-tech measures and has been working for the uplift of the inmates for the last several years. He praised the efforts of Karnal jail superintendent Sher Singh.

Amit Mishra, designer of the software, said his wife had consumed some poisonous substance in April 2013, and died. He was falsely implicated in a case and sent to Gurgaon jail, where he met inmates Rohit Pagara and Ajay, he added.

They started the process of digitalisation of the jails activities. Then Gurgaon jail superintendent Harinder Singh extended full co-operation to them.

After being acquitted from the charge, he didn’t drop the project and worked on it without taking any money from the prisons authorities.

The ADGP accompanied by IG, Karnal Range, Hanif Qureshi, IG Sibash Kaviraj, Karnal jail superintendent Sher Singh and other officials, inaugurated an e-library and five ROs for clean water and thanked Dr SP Singh Oberoi, managing trustee of Sarbaat Da Bhala charitable trust, for giving support to jails.

Satinder of Panipat, a convict in dowry death case, is leading all the IT activities in the Karnal jail.