Maharashtra state Prison department rolls out a smart video- calling facility for female prisoners and inmates lodged at open jails

The Maharashtra Prison department has rolled out a smart video- calling facility for female prisoners and inmates lodged at open jails across the state, after gaining success in its pilot project at Pune’s Yerawada Central Prison (YCP). A prisoner can talk to his/her family members for five minutes and will be charged Rs 5. The department has obtained the smartphones for video calling through the Prisoners Welfare Fund. However, the face to face talking facility with the family members will only be available on the mobile phone numbers registered with the department. For security reasons, the conversations will also be tracked by a police constable to ensure that the talks centre around family issues. There are around 28,000 prisoners, which includes both convicts and under-trials, lodged across 54 jails, including 13 open prisons and 2 women prisons in the state.