Who holds the keys?

This was indeed a bizarre scene at Yerawada jail. It was a dream come true for the inmates when the jail guard at the jail misplaced keys to the barracks  and prisoners cells. Me and you misplacing our house keys is one thing but this lost keys business could have turned ugly. But the situation was immediately brought under control when the keys were found. Where and by whom? Well, an inmate came and handed over the keys to the frantic search party of guards, saying that he had found the keys on the jail premises.

This naturally stunned the guards and some inmates rued at the folly of the honest prisoner. If he had not returned, anything could have happened – jail break, attack on prisoners. As such Yerawada has the reputation of being very lax when it comes to security. Spread over 500 acres, it houses 266 cells, contained in 43 barracks, there have been many instances of murders, finding mobile phones and drugs on the premises and much more. Famous prisoners like Telgi, who was also houses here had said that anyone could bribe the jail officials and get into the jail.

The surprising honesty of the inmate to have handed over the keys needs to be lauded. One does nit know what crime he is inside for but his honesty, whether carried out with good intent, or out of fear or out of sheer ignorance is commendable. He helped avert a huge crisis and bigger embarrassment for the already sheepish jail authorities.