Emotions run high as 900 women visit jail to tie rakhi to brothers

Emotions ran high as Raksha Bandhan was celebrated with fervour at the Central Jail here on Saturday. Women reached the place to meet their brothers lodged in jails and tied rakhi to them.

Tight security arrangements were made on the occasion by the Jail Department. As per details shared by the Jail Department, around 900 women visited the prisons to tie rakhi from 9 am to 5 pm.

While tying rakhi, many siblings were seen getting emotional as tears were rolling down their cheeks. Tears were also accompanied by smiles as the women got a chance to celebrate the festival with their brothers.

The jail administration had set up stalls of sweets and rakhis on the jail premises as women were urged to buy sweets from it due to security concerns or prevent women from sharing anything objectionable on the pretext of sharing eatables.

Gurpreet Kaur, who reached the jail to tie rakhi on the wrist of her brother, said last year also, she had tied rakhi to her brother at the place. This year too, the government had offered the facility as a homely environment was provided to them to celebrate the festival for some time.

“In return, for tying a rakhi, I have not asked my brother for any gift. Instead, I told my brother that if he really wants to give any gift, he should leave the world of crime and join the mainstream society. My brother has promised that he will give up crime,” she said.

Suman Arora, another woman who came from Doraha to tie rakhi to her brother, said: “My brother is in jail in a drug smuggling case since the past year. On Saturday, I made him do a promise to me that after coming out of the jail, he did not indulge in drug peddling. I hope the next year I will celebrate the festival with him at our home,” she said while sobbing.

Jail Superintendent Kulwant Singh Sidhu said the jail administration had made strict security arrangements for those entering the prisons. The authorities did not allow anyone to take food items inside. Every woman was given 5 to 10 minutes for meeting. Only sweets provided by the jail administration was allowed to be used for the celebrations.

Ludhiana jail houses around 4,500 inmates and the prison administration has given a chance to all inmates to meet their sisters, irrespective of the nature of crimes they had committed.