Daltonganj: A girl living with her prisoner mother in Central Jail here won praise from acting principal district and sessions judge R K Mishra when she recited a poem during a routine visit to the jail’s female ward on Wednesday.The visit was conducted by the Board of Visitors, led by Mishra, said Saurav Kumar Gautam, secretary of the Palamu District Legal Services Authority.Around half a dozen children living with their incarcerated mothers were attending classes in the women’s ward when Mishra asked them what they were learning. The girl, who is aged under six, stood up and recited the poem flawlessly, impressing the judge and other members of the board. “Another child read out the English alphabet,” Gautam said.SDPO (Sadar) Rajesh Yadav, who was also part of the visiting board, said some inmates booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act approached him for help in securing legal representation. They said poverty had prevented them from hiring lawyers.Yadav immediately asked senior lawyer S K Pandey, a panel member of the legal aid defence counsel, to arrange free legal assistance for the inmates.Gautam clarified that the visit was neither an inspection nor a raid, but a routine exercise by the board, which includes representatives of the deputy commissioner and SP.He said the jail appeared clean and inmate-friendly, with hygiene standards visibly maintained. “The jail hospital was also adequately stocked with medicines,” he added.According to jail authorities, the prison currently houses 843 male inmates and 53 female inmates.
