Reader Edit: Why parole conditions should not be relaxed for prisoners

Mumbai city is still reeling under the shock of the gang rape of a four-year-old child in Bhayander.  On December 5 last year, two 16-year-old students were kidnapped for ransom and  a three-year-old child was strangled. The child’s decomposing body was recovered near the water tank from the terrace of the building nearby.

Crimes are increasing at an alarming rate in Mumbai. The Home Department making parole and furlough rules easier for convicts is disturbing, and this is a cause for concern. The argument that senior prison authorities are finding it  difficult  to implement strict parole and furlough laws is not credible. It only exposes the limitations of the prison administration. Why should the vulnerable public suffer for the omissions of the prison authorities when convicts will be let loose on society.

And now Sajjad Mogul’s disappearance during parole is a lesson to the Home Department: it should not relax  the rules for prisoners. Why should the public pay a price for this by being exposed to criminals who disappear during parole? Relaxing parole and furlough rules for prisoners is myopic and not in public interest. The Home Department should stick to the stricter rules which were brought about in 2016.