VASCO: Inspector General of Prisons Elvis Gomes has said that the State Home department has received the report on the magisterial inquiry conducted into the Colvale jail incident, its recommendations are being examined and the same would be implemented as soon as possible.
Gomes was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function organised to celebrate the first harvesting of medicinal plants at the Sada Sub Jail on, Tuesday.
The government had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident wherein under trials were allegedly assaulted by jail officials in October last year at the new modern jail, at Colvale. The inquiry was conducted by South Goa Collector Sachin Shinde.
“After the incident, we suspended many people. Now that we have received the magisterial inquiry report, we will examine what measures are required to be taken, what further action is required to be taken and the same will be implemented as soon as possible,” Gomes told Herald.
Meanwhile, as a part of Prisoner Rehabilitation Programme, the inmates have started cultivation of medicinal plants at Sada Sub Jail on an area of 2000 square meters and the same, sources say, would be increased by 8 times during monsoon.
The plants are selected based on suitability to the geo-climatic conditions and nature of soil characters. Also, the prison department has signed a MoU with the Himalaya herbal healthcare product manufacturer. Under the MoU, the manufacturer will provide the technical knowhow, seeds and support, while the government will provide the infrastructure such as irrigation facilities, electricity supply, manpower as well as farming implements.
“This is fist of its kind concept adopted by the prison department in Goa. This project will be mutually beneficial, for inmates as well as for the government. The inmates would get an opportunity to develop their skills in cultivating medicinal herbs and earn a reasonable source of income and this project will expand to additional cultivable area inside the jail in future,” Gomes said.
