Prisons Department unveils rehab programme for habitual offenders

Hyderabad: Telangana State Prisons Department has come up with a plan to rid society of crime. The department has undertaken the task of rehabilitating the criminals. As part of the plan, the department has prepared a list of 958 habitual offenders from all over State.

The officials have constituted 31 correctional service team to ensure that the habitual offenders get aftercare services.

Most of the criminals have taken to crime because of illiteracy, poverty, broken families, bad company and mishandling by the law-enforcement personnel, including those working in prisons, the officials explained.

The correctional service teams are required to get in touch with all the habitual offenders and get acquainted with their grievances. Later the team with the help of various agencies swing into action and redress the grievances expressed by the habitual criminals, the officials said.

According to Director General of Prisons Vinoy Kumar Singh, out of 958 habitual offenders, the teams had already got in touch with 734 habitual offenders till now.

As many as 65 of them asked for job and four wanted to borrow loans to lead a decent life and one asked for medical treatment for him.

The Director General said 137 habitual offenders are still in judicial custody in different jails. The teams would also get in touch these offenders too and lister to their grievances.

The Prisons Department provided jobs to four habitual offenders till now. A total 527 expressed their satisfaction with the provision of self-employment.

Help was extended to them to buy auto-rickshaws, establish automobile repair shops and pursue farming. The Director General appealed to the police to provide addresses of 207 hardcore criminals to help the correctional service teams to get in touch with them also.