Minister denies sexual abuse of women inmates at Central Prisons

No letter sent to High Court chief justice, inmates tell minister

Women and Child Welfare Minister Umashree said on Saturday that reports claiming that prison authorities took money from male inmates to ensure sexual favours from female inmates at Central Prisons, Parappana Agrahara, were baseless, false and far from truth.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the prison and interacting with women inmates, the minister said: Myself and Tara (BJP MLC) visited the prisons, following allegations that a few inmates were assaulted sexually. We spoke to every inmate on issues that they are facing. We also referred to the letter purportedly written by inmates to the High Court chief justice about sexual atrocities.” 

“However, the inmates told us that nobody inside the prison wrote any letter to the chief justice. Some of them even said that the prisons department higher-ups are decent and immediately attend to any grievances. The inmates told us that such a letter was never drafted and it was a wild imagination.”

Umashree said that women inmates faced no problems in the prison as everything was properly taken care of. A high-level committee comprising senior officers of Women and Child Welfare and Home departments has been constituted. She told the women inmates to disclose their problems when the committee members visit, without any hesitation, the minister said and added that efforts were made to instil courage among them.

According to sources in the Prisons department, during the interaction, the inmates told Umashree and Tara that the cases of supply of ganja and other banned substances were on the rise. They need to bribe prisons authorities to get parole leave and get food from home. The prisons authorities demand money even to allow visits of relatives, the inmates said.

They clarified that no woman inmate was ever forced to sleep with men nor the prisons authorities took money from men inmates to ensure sexual favours from women inmates, the sources said. 

The women inmates expressed displeasure over such allegations. They claimed that it would be difficult for them to lead a normal life in society once they are released. Many people have started looking at them with suspicion, the inmates reportedly said.

There are 131 women inmates, including 15 convicts and 89 undertrials. There are 12 foreign women inmates as well. There are six women wardens to supervise the women inmates, sources said.