Bank accounts opened for Yerawada Central Jail's women convicts

An inmate gets her ATM card and other related documents, after the opening of her bank account, at Yerawada Central Jail

Yerawada Central Jail has started an initiative to make its women inmates more independent with a better control over their lives once they step out. The prison authorities have begun a pilot project wherein they have opened bank accounts for the women convicts.

The jail has 257 women prisoners, of which 152 are convicted; 147 of these have now got their own accounts with the State Bank of India's Khadki branch, Pune. Yesterday, they received their ATM cards, passbooks and bank identity cards.

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Keeping safe
Jail superintendent UT Pawar said, "Based on skill type, prisoners earn a maximum daily wage of Rs 55. The money is kept with us and given to them at the time of their release. In a bid to maintain transparency and help them to get additional benefits, we decided to do this. As part of the initiative, 90 per cent of their monthly wages will be directly deposited in their accounts. Ten per cent will remain with us, which the women can use to buy items from the canteen inside. Based on the success of the pilot, we will replicate it for the male inmates here as well as in other jails in Maharashtra."

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"We have seen family members never turning up to meet these women in jail, only showing up at the time of release because that's when they are given their accumulated earnings as well as an additional R5,000 from our side. Also, it's happened that at times the inmates, who are being released on parole, take the money and disappear," said senior jail officer Aruna Mugutrao.

To avoid such instances, SBI regional manager Shubhash Das said, "When being released on parole, they won't be given the entire amount in lump sum. Also, an amount of Rs 20,000 will have to be maintained to keep the account active."

Future plans
Son of a Sinhagad resident, who was convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced to five years in jail, was recently handed over her entire earnings of Rs 22,000 after she passed away.

The convict had got parole for the funeral of her younger son, but unable to take his death, she too had died during the cremation. In the four-and-a-half years that she'd served, she'd earned around Rs 22,000. Her elder son said, "My mother was a maid; she raised us with a lot of pains and sacrifice. In jail too, she used to work hard and send us R990 every month via money order. Now, I have got this large amount and I don't know what to do with it."

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Another convict, who has been in jail for the last 14 years and has R60,000 in her account, said, "I am happy that I have saved up a decent amount for a good life once I am granted parole. I will use the money to travel to pilgrim sites. I never thought though that I would have so much money. Had I known earlier, I would have used it for an appeal in Supreme Court and lawyer's fees."

An inmate convicted under the NDPS Act has R30,700 in her account. Serving a 14-year term, she's completed 12 of that. "I'm happy that I have enough money to buy a ticket for myself to return to my hometown after release," she said.