E-mulaquati haazir ho

MUMBAI, INDIA: Prisoners in Punjab jails will soon be able to meet their families, virtually.

The Punjab prisons department is planning to connect the prisoners with their families via video conferencing.

The initiative named e-mulaquat follows the VC facility provided across Punjab jails for producing inmates before the courts.

"But for e-mulaquat a separate system will be installed. We will shortly launch this facility from Ludhiana prison. Later, all the prisons will have the e-mulaquat concept," Rajpal Meena, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Prisons, informed Hindustan Times.

How the system works?

The department of prisons is already running betas at the Ludhiana jail. The e-mulaquat system will work in the same way as the online visitor management system. The e-mulaquat system was installed two weeks back in Ludhiana prison having over 3,000 inmates. About 1,400 prisoners in the past few days met their relatives after placing online requests for appointments.

For e-mulaquat, users have to enter the required details online. The system will generate one time password (OTP) which will be sent on mobile and email, and the request for video-conferencing will be generated with a unique number. Once the request is approved by the jail authorities, the inmate's family will be informed about the time of VC call.

The family needs a computer, a camera and an Internet connection at home. The department will also study the modalities of e-mulaquat system launched by Himachal Pradesh where jails have been connected with the government-run Lokmitra Kendras for video-conferencing.

In Punjab, mulaquat with convicts is allowed twice a week, while for under trials it is on four days a week. This practice will be followed for the e-mulaquat too. There are 26 jails in the state with over 26,000 inmates.

It must also be noted that the e- facilities introduced in Tihar jail to curb corruption are being replicated in Punjab prisons.

For example, all inmates are allotted smart cards or e-purse for every item they purchase inside the prison, the barrack allotment system is online, while all jails are under e-surveillance and monitored by prison authorities.