Colvale jail to have 1st model prison cell for extradition cases

Panaji: The Colvale central jail will have its first model prison cell as per international standards to lodge an extradited prisoner of foreign nationality.

Goa inspector general of police (IGP) K R Chaurasia said that the model prison cell can accommodate two prisoners, and it will be spacious as compared to other cells in the jail.

He said that the cell will have good ventilation, an attached bathroom, and hygiene. “Those prisoners who will be extradited from India will be kept in that cell,” Chaurasia said.

The cell was constructed based on the directions of the ministry of home affairs and it would be operational soon. The total capacity of central jail to lodge inmates is 648, and currently 625 inmates are being lodged inside the jail, including 470 undertrial prisoners.

The IGP said that on an average 98% of the jail remains full.

Recently, in a first, a Portuguese national convicted in a narcotics case and serving 11 years of his 15-year sentence at Colvale central jail was transferred to Portugal to complete the remainder of his term.

Ivan Miguel Falcao Patricio was transferred to Portugal under the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The ministry of home affairs approved the transfer, and Portugal deputed two officers to escort him to their country.

State govt handed Falcao over to the Portuguese authorities in Mumbai as per their request, after they informed govt that there was some difficulty arranging flights to Goa, even with a stopover in a third country. The MHA then asked Goa if it was willing to execute the transfer in Mumbai.

Supreme Court directed state govt to establish open prisons, in order to ease the burden on the prison system and to ensure smoother rehabilitation of inmates on release, and state govt has started the work to open a semi-open prison.

The IGP said that under the semi-open prison, prisoners who have completed 90% of their sentence will be lodged in the semi-open prison and they will be tried to reintegrate with society.

In 2021, state govt framed new prison rules, under which the grounds were laid for the introduction of open prisons, semi-open prisons, and open colonies and camps.