Even jails have no place for eunuchs!

BY AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO

Bargarh, Nov. 11: Just imagine a situation: Some eunuchs are arrested on theft charges, produced in the court, their bail petition is rejected and the court sends them to jail.
The jail authorities - all on a sudden - find themselves in an awkward position – where shall they send these people – to male ward or female ward?
Such a peculiar situation has recently happened in Orissa’s Baragarh district.
On September 28 last, a district court remanded a eunuch Sudam Dharua (30) to judicial custody on charges of theft.
When Sudam landed in the jail premises, the jail authorities instantly got a headache as they had no idea where to accommodate Sudam since they did not have any special cell for eunuchs.
After much discussion and consultation, it was decided that Sudam would sit in the staff office during the day and at night he would sleep in a separate room guarded by trusted staff of the jail.
Speaking to reporters, Sudam said he was not feeling comfortable with the arrangement and pleaded that the state government should create a separate cell for eunuchs in the jails so that they do not have to go through such humiliation.
Not a single jail in Orissa has special cells for the eunuchs. So is the case with almost all the jails in the country, said a senior jail official here.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Bhubaneswar Special Jail superintendent Basant Kumar Ojha said, “The present jail manual does not provide special cell for the eunuchs. In absence of special cells for eunuchs, we just use our discretionary power and accommodate them in some special rooms.”
Mr Ojha, who has already served for 28 years in different capacities in state jail administration, however, said he had faced this kind of situation only once in his long career.
“I remember I encountered with such an awkward situation only once in my career. The eunuch who was booked under theft charges was accommodated in room meant for the staff,” he said.