Some soothing music for Kasab,others

Jail Superintendent Rajendra Dhamne said,“The public address system has been installed and around ten speakers have been connected to the main system,through which we call undertrials for being taken to courts,or intimate them about relatives’ visit. Besides making announcements,we also play songs. I started this system at Yerwada prison when I was posted there and it was a success,so I tried it here,” Dhamne said.

According to prison officials,there have been instances when undertrials could not be taken to courts or their relatives couldn’t meet them as they could not be located easily as they were in the washrooms or sleeping. As a result,prison officials used to come in for criticism. After installing the public address system,all these have become things of the past.

Dhamne said,“Now once a name is called,it echoes in the entire prison and the accused comes forward without fail. If he still doesn’t,his cellmate alerts him.”

“The songs played are mostly patriotic songs from Bollywood movies,soothing classical music and some devotional songs. Such music helps the accused to be calm…,” he said.

Arthur Road Jail is a transit prison,where only undertrials waiting for their case to be decided are lodged. The prison has a capacity of around 1,000 prisoners but over 2,000 are lodged there at any given moment. The public address system is the first to be installed in a city prison,though such systems are operational in other prisons like Tihar,Yerwada and others.