Yoga and meditation for prisoners
The Coimbatore Central Prison is to introduce yoga and meditation for remand prisoners following a couple of attempts and even suicides reported in the last few months.The life convicts lodged in the prison are currently extended yoga and meditation by centres like the World Community Service Centre, Isha Yoga Centre and Art of Living.DIG, Prisons P Munivel told this website’s newspaper that he has advised his officers to segregate the murder case accused,' those detained under goondas act and petty crimes among the remand prisoners in Coimbatore and Salem prisons, so that yoga and meditation can be extended to the first two category of prisoners.The latest of suicide deaths reported inside the central prison was on Jan 10 last when a remand prisoner Varadarajan (32) committed suicide by hanging himself.There have been two suicide attempts this month. In one incident, a remand prisoner, Srinivasan (33) of Pallapalayam, Sirumugai, tried to commit suicide by climbing atop a tree and jumping from there on Sunday last. He was admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) with injuries. Varadarajan was arrested in connection with the murder of his wife, so too Srinivasan. A few months back, a rape case accused jumped to death from atop a building block inside the prison.It is understood that prisoners come out of their cells at 6 am and return to their cells at 6 pm everyday. While convict prisoners spend most of their time working in the workshop inside the prison, the undertrials watch television, or spend their time reading newspapers in the library. But, majority prisoners are found whiling away their time and it is time that something is done so that they learnt something useful. Additional Superintendent R Arivudainambi said it is also being mulled to rope in some NGO's with the approval of the government.Though, it is going to be a long process, the initiatives are being taken, he pointed out.
