Kolkata: Many inmates became pregnant in the correctional homes of West Bengal and around 196 births took place inside jails, lawyer Tapas Bhanja presented this report to the Calcutta High Court after visiting a correctional home in the state.
The report triggered a huge sensation and the court directed ADG (Prisons), Laxmi Narayan Meena, to conduct an investigation into the matter. Meena, however, has completely refuted the allegation of women getting impregnated inside prisons.
"The allegation is baseless and completely false. I held meetings with the authorities of the correctional homes and officials and found that no such incident has ever occurred. There may be instances where a woman was already pregnant before her arrest. But, getting pregnant inside the prison is completely false," Meena told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview.
Justifying his claim, Meena said that he conducted a step-by-step probe and investigated the matter comprehensively. "The allegation of female inmates getting pregnant inside correctional homes is totally baseless. We will soon submit our observations before the Calcutta High Court. We will also take legal action against the perpetrators," he said.
According to a report of the state correctional administration department, the women prisoners are currently being brought to Alipore, Presidency, Baruipur, Howrah, Hooghly, and Uluberia Correctional facilities. Besides, in central correctional facilities like Dumdum, Midnapore, Baharampur, Burdwan, Balurghat or multiple district correctional facilities, there is a wall erected on both sides of the cells lodging the male and female prisoners. Even if they try to mingle, prison guards are always there, the report added.
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