‘Even dangerous criminals dread facing society’

SURAT: Over 300 jail inmates and officials of Lajpore Central Jail (LCJ) participated in a psychological training workshop which was held a few days ago to help them in rehabilitation after completion of their sentence and service, respectively.
The session was held after a graphology test for different types of prisoners to check their psychological condition. The test revealed that majority of the convicts and undertrials suffered from a fear that the society will not accept them once they are released from jail. The test of women prisoners revealed that they faced physical health issues due to their psychological condition.

Surat District Legal Service Authority held separate rehabilitation sessions for men and women prisoners. Experts took test of 100 participants to understand their exact mental condition.

“Selected participants, including women, were in jail on murder, rape and loot charges. In each category, 25 convicts and undertrials were chosen. We took their test and based on the findings, organized the sessions for them,” said Mikkita S Desaii, a graphologist.

Desaii, who has been actively involved in helping family courts to understand the behaviour of litigating parties from their handwritings, had for the first time attempted such a session with the prisoners.

“Based on the test results, a rehabilitation workshop was planned as per the initiative of the district and principal judge Geeta Gopi,” she added.
At least 200 male prisoners and 30 jail officials were trained in the first workshop. A separate workshop was organized for 94 women prisoners.
“We found through the tests that even those who committed most dangerous crimes had the fear of acceptance by the society once their jail term ended. Some develop guilt and in others there is lack of forgiveness. It is possible they may commit another crime in such a condition. We helped them to overcome their fear and develop positivity in the workshop,” Desaii said.
“The psychological condition of the prisoners can be felt even when they don’t speak. It took a lot of time for us to make women prisoners open up. The session will help them understand life from a different perspective,” said Shivang Desai, an associate at Mind Studio.
by Yagnesh Bharat Mehta via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India