Prison reforms in Telangana: Locked in a limbo Premium

Experts highligh tmajor crisis in Indian jails: the urgent need for effective reformation and rehabilitation of criminals.

Trigger warning: The following article contains references to suicide. Please avoid reading it if you are disturbed by the subject

Every day as dusk fell, Sheelam Shetti Venkata Ramana would feel a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach. His father, Nageshwar Rao, an infamous figure in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, for his criminal record, would set him a daily challenge — “arrange ₹100 by evening” — before disappearing from their home. Terrified of his father’s wrath, the 14-year-old turned to petty theft, picking pockets to meet the demand.

Now, 36 years later, Ramana is a wanted offender and a regular face in State prisons. In May this year, the Rachakonda police in Hyderabad apprehended him, following a 42-day round-the-clock mission,for his involvement in seven new cases, adding to his staggering tally of over 250 property offences across the two Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Ramana’s arrest has highlighted a major crisis in Indian jails: the urgent need for effective reformation and rehabilitation of criminals.

In early 2000s in Hyderabad, then part of united Andhra Pradesh, another 14-year-old, Varun Varma (name changed to protect identity), chose a path influenced by his uncle, a history sheeter. His first encounter with the prison system was when the police apprehended him, along with about 30 others, for involvement in communal violence in Amberpet area of the city.

Until 2001, Varun had a conventional upbringing in Hyderabad. His father, a renowned realtor at the time, had just gotten his ticket into the world of politics. With his father’s busy schedule and confusion over choosing a career path upon reaching class 10, Varun found inspiration in his uncle. “People in my area always looked up to him for all sorts of settlements. I admired his lifestyle and skills, but couldn’t beat people up unless I was intoxicated,” Varun recalls.

Now 41, Varun has spent over 15 years behind the bars for offences including murder, assault, extortion, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. By his own admission, his time in prison exposed him to drugs and led him deeper into criminal activities, earning him the moniker ‘Chinna Bhai’, a close associate of slain gangster Nayeem.

The dark prison barrack, packed with about 14 inmates, became his sanctuary. “I grew so fond of the environs that I did not want to go home anymore. Inside, there were all grades of criminals — thieves, murderers, drug lords, and even those with political ties. It was within those walls that I was introduced to drugs and became addicted to it. In jail, we formed networks and assigned each other ‘jobs’,” he says, sharing the names of a few fellow inmates who hired him for settlements outside the jail.