GPS wrist bands for prisoners on parole could become norm
Convicts, who are out of jail on parole or furlough, may have to sport a Global Positioning System (Gps)-enabled wrist band so that they do not abscond. The state government has sought the Bombay high court’s permission to go ahead with the plan.
The decision of making it compulsory for convicts on leave to sport GPS band was taken by a high-level committee appointed to chalk out measures to curb cases of jumping parole. Maharashtra has the highest number of cases of parole and furlough absconders in the country.
After Sajjad Mughal, killer of lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha, jumped parole this June, the court had directed the government to form a committee and submit a report before October 18.
“The convicts on parole or furlough will have to wear the Gpsenabled band. It will help us monitor the whereabouts of the convict. Few countries, including Israel, have this system in place,” said Vijay Satbir Singh, additional chief secretary and head of the committee.
The committee, however, fears that the move might lead to violation of human rights.
“This is the reason we have asked for the court’s permission. We have stated that this has been
implemented in few countries and it could be an assured measure to keep track of prisoners. The bands can be made compulsory for the prisoners taken out for court hearings and medical treatment. This will stringently be implemented in case of serious offenders,” said another official from the prison department.
The prison administration has decided to collect thumb impressions and iris scans of prisoners so that they are identified easily if they abscond.
“The data will be linked with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) so that police stations will have the details of all prisoners lodged in various jails of the state, ” the officer said.
Singh said the home department has revised the parole and furlough norms, making them stringent. It has reduced the special leave from 90 days to 45 days.
Those convicted of rape, terrorism activities, kidnapping, smuggling of narcotics and mutiny against the state will not be allowed the special leave.
According to the figures with the home department, about 550 inmates have absconded while on furlough or parole.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau statistics, of the 39,199 prisoners released on parole in the country in 2015, 501 were absconding.
Of them, 152 are from Maharashtra.
The Mumbai police are raiding restaurants, shops and hookah parlours selling tobacco to children. In just a week, the crackdown has seen 104 cases filed across the city.
The drive ordered by police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar has led to restaurant staffers from 17 hookah parlours being arrested this year for serving minors. They face up to seven years in jail under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Also, pan-beedi shops within 100 yards of educational institutions were penalised. “Our main focus is to keep minors away from tobacco products. We also need public participation to intensify the drive . Citizens can tip us off about such establishments, and we will keep their identities confidential,” said Pravinkumar Patil, deputy commissioner of police, enforcement, heading the crack down since last week.
A Special Juvenile Aid Protection Unit (SJAPU) official conducting the raids told HT that the civic body does not recognise ‘hookah parlours’ while giving out licences. “The licences given are for smoking zones, which restaurants illegally turn into hookah parlours,” he said.
A sessions court on Monday rejected a plea filed by a boy, accused of raping a sevenyear-old girl in Malwani, requesting to be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The accused Sunny Saroj, who was arrested earlier this year, had filed an application in Dindoshi sessions court claiming he is 17 years old and thus a minor. He had also produced a school leaving certificate from Uttar Pradesh.
The Malwani police then filed an application against his plea and dispatched a team to Uttar Pradesh to find the truth. After speaking with the school authorities they found that he was lying. “We then filed a reply before the court proving that he is 19,” said Malwani police inspector Ramesh Nangre.
Public prosecutor KY Salunke said the court rejected Saroj’s application and the police then submitted a charge sheet against Saroj. He will now be tried as an adult in sessions court.