Inmates turn bathroom singers in UP jail

However, this excuse is not going to save inmates of the district jail in Moradabad from singing a song or two when they are in bathrooms or toilets.

In the backdrop of the increasing number of suicides in jail bathrooms and toilets in the state, jail authorities have devised a  bizarre step: Inmates of the district jail have been asked to sing while they are using toilets and bathrooms.  If a prisoner does not know singing he will have to keep on saying something aloud as long as he remains inside the toilet.

On suicide watch

“As long as the inmate continues to sing or speak, the guard stationed outside will be certain that the prisoner is alive,” a jail official said. “The size of the doors of the toilets will be reduced and prisoners will be asked to sing or speak something while they are inside them,” the jail authorities said.

The officials, however, made it clear that no prisoner would be forced to sing. “We will instead persuade them to do so by impressing upon them that it is in their own interest and for their safety,” they said.

Jail guards have also been told to keep an eye on prisoners, who remain aloof and keep to themselves. “Some fellow inmates will also be entrusted with this responsibility,” officials said.