Cashless mode: Prisons Dept holding talks with BoP on bank accounts

LAHORE: The Punjab Prisons Department is holding consultations with the Bank of Punjab (BoP) for opening bank accounts of inmates languishing in jails across Punjab through which they could pay their expenses online in addition to purchase of edibles via a ‘cashless mode’.

“To facilitate inmates and their friends or families, we are holding consultations with the Bank of Punjab (BoP) to open bank accounts of inmates inside jails through which they would not only be able to pay for their expenses online but it will also bring transparency in the disbursement of their funds,” a senior officer of the Punjab Prisons told this scribe on Friday.

In this regard, a meeting between Punjab Inspector General for Prisons Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig and BoP Regional Manager Amir Dar was held at the Inspectorate of the Punjab Prisons, he said.

Under the proposal, the officer added, the prison department would synchronize CNIC numbers of inmates with its Prisons Management and Information System (PMIS) and then the whole system will be integrated with the online system of the BoP for introducing a cashless entries system.

At present, the friends and families have to personally visit jails and deposit amount to the jail accounts of their relatives by standing in long queues.

However, visitors mostly complain that the jail officers demand certain cut from the cash deposits if they wanted to ensure swift delivery of the funds. “If implemented, the system would eliminate the role of “corrupt” officers and the visitors would no longer have to personally spend their whole day in queues in jails,” the officer commented.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022