Jammu:
Kot Bhalwal Central Jail In Jammu has remained in the news for all the wrong reasons. Now, the focus is on reform and rehabilitation. Inmates serving life term at the prison have come together to form a music band. They've been trained in this vocation as a rehabilitation measure.
Hassan Din, found guilty of militancy, plays the drums and Mohammad Yaseen, a rape convict, plays the flute. The 12-member band was picked from among 500 prisoners lodged at the jail.
"It's good for us. We will learn, and this will help us move ahead in life," says Hassan Din, Band Member.
"One gets bored and worried inside the jail," adds Mohammad Yaseen.
After a month's training, the band's maiden performance for the other inmates took place on Tuesday.
"This band is ready to move out of the jail, while serving their sentence," says Rajni Sehgal
Superintendent, Kot Bhalwal Jail.
Many hope that the experimental project will eventually also help to bring about a change in the overall atmospherics of the place that once lodged dreaded militants like Maulana Masood Azhar.