In a New Year bonanza by the Jammu and Kashmir’s prison’s department for the inmates and their families, much need e-mulaqat initiative has been launched to facilitate interaction between prisoners and their family members through video conferencing facility.
Notification issued by the prisons department, in order to ease mulaqat (meeting), of family members of inmates lodged in jails, the prisons department is introducing e-mulaqat from January 1, 2020 which will enable family members of inmates to have a meeting with inmates through vedio conferencing. “The facility shall be available jail to jail i.e. family members desirous of meeting their loved ones serving imprisonment, through vedio conferencing. “The service can be availed from a nearby jail,” reads the notification dated December 31, 2019.
It read that the family members are advised to contact Superintendent of nearby jail during office hours on the given numbers in advance for video conferencing.
14 jails have been identified for e-mulaqat in J&K. In Jammu, nine jails have been listed for e-mulaqats that include Central Jail Kotbalwal, District Jail Jammu (Amphala), District Jail Kathua, District Jail Udhampur, District Jail Rajouri, District Jail Kishtwar, District Jail Bhaderwah, Sub-Jail Hiranagar and Sub Jail Reasi. “In Kashmir, Central Jail Srinagar, District Jail Baramulla, District Jail Kupwara, District Jail Anantnag and Special Jail (Correctional Home) Pulwama will have e-mulaqat facility,” the notification reads.
The step has been appreciated by the family members of prisoners lodged in various jails within J&K. “It is a good step, but procedure should be easy. It should not be like seeking a meeting with the inmate which takes at least a week,” said a parent, whose son is lodged in Central Jail, Srinagar.
A senior official in the prisons department said that there is a simple procedure involved in seeking e-mulaqat. “A family member has to simply approach the jail superintendent of his/her nearby jail and things will be sorted out on fast track basis,” the official said. He termed it as a step taken to fill the gap between family members and inmates. (KNO)