Legal assistance comes to family members of prisoners

Dimapur, June 24 (EMN): A campaign to provide assistance in legal matters to family members of prisoners was carried out during the past few days in all the districts under the aegis of the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA).
Updates from an email on Monday stated that 172 jail inmates, both under trail prisoners (UTP) and convicts were represented by their family members in availing the assistance.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), ‘Prison Statistics India, 2015’, the total population of jail inmates in Nagaland state is 499.

During the campaign, the updates stated, the family representatives were educated on the need to be “legally empowered for those whose family member is under trail or convicted and perceived to be forgotten by the system.”

They were also told about rights of the inmates’ children especially educational rights, the updates stated.
In the initial stages of the process, family members were required to fill up a Performa for identification of the legal services they needed, background of the inmates, and details about their family members, the updates stated.

‘It was observed that majority of the family representatives expressed the need for legal assistance which will be further pursued. The campaign is expected to cover almost 96% of convicts and 25.1% of UTPs,’ the updates stated.

“It was conveyed that the drive will facilitate the spouses of the inmates in living a dignified life; secure respect and care to the parents, likely to be senior citizens; protect vulnerable family members from adverse consequences of incarceration of sole bread earner; and promote mental health of the inmates by removing anxiety about well-being of their family members.”

The follow-up on legal aid will be undertaken in the second stage of the campaign, the updates added.