Three months after suspending prisoners’ interviews in view of the second wave of COVID-19, the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services has decided to resume them with some restrictions.
Interviews were suspended on April 27 to protect inmates from the contagion. Instead, they were allowed to make video-calls, besides regular phone calls.
Acting on requests from the families and friends of inmates for resuming physical interviews and considering the decline in the number of cases, Sunil Kumar Singh, Director-General of Police, Prisons and Correctional Services, met senior prison officials and issued a standard operating procedure for the interviews.
Under the new arrangement, relatives and friends should request for interviews at least 24 hours in advance through the ePrisons Visitors Management System or on telephone and arrive 30 minutes before the appointment. Each prisoner will be permitted one interview in 15 days, and not more than two visitors will be allowed at a time.
Visitors should produce proof of two-dose vaccination or the report of the RT-PCR negative test taken within 72 hours of the interview. The timings will be between 9 a.m and 2 p.m. on all days, except weekends and holidays. Forms for requesting interviews can be downloaded from www.prisons.tn.gov.in
