Kolkata: The report submitted to Calcutta High Court by amicus curiae Tapas Bhanja, apart from suggesting a ban on the entry of male employees in women’s spaces, also prays for the court’s directions seeking pregnancy tests on all women before they are jailed. These tests should be monitored by chief judicial magistrates, the report suggests.
The report also contains some details of Bhanja’s experience of visiting the Alipore Women’s Correctional Home.Bhanja said he found 15 children — 10 male and five female — in the jail. “Some of the inmates gave birth inside the correctional home itself,” the report says, mentioning that “proper medicinal procurement and equipment were lacking” and “medical infrastructure is thoroughly lacking.”
The report points to overcrowding in women’s wards, particularly in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home and Alipore Women’s Correctional Home. “A total of 400 female prisoners had been identified in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home. Of them, 90 women prisoners were transferred from Women Correctional Home, Alipore, due to overcrowding,” it says.