Inmates make liquor within high walls of Vellore central prison

Apr 24 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai) Thirsty prisoners devise way to make  own liquor, caught Shanmughasundaram J Vellore   A group of four inmates of the Vellore Central Prison for Men here may or may not  know the popular saying of Greek philosopher Plato necessity is the mother of  invention, but they demonstrated it.Though they are cut off from the outside  world, they have found ways and means to quench their thirst for liquor. The four, including Ramu and Murugan, habitual offenders, and lodged in the remand prisoners block succeeded in brewing their own brand of liquor with fruits and jaggery  given to them by relatives during their visits to prison. But, prison staff soon sniffed  out the brew doing brisk business on the prison campus. On Tuesday , a chief head warder noticed the inmates acting weirdly when he was on  a routine check of the block. Growing suspicious, he checked them and was shocked to see a bucket with more than 10 litres of liquor made of fruits and sugar. With limited resources, the prisoners had managed to make the brew. The remand  prisoners, lodged in prison in connection with robbery and theft cases, have ventured into brewing the spirit for the last two weeks. “The four inmates used fruits, particularly pomegranate and orange, wheat and jaggery to make the liquor,“ said a senior prison official on condition of anonymity . Explaining their modus operandi, the official said the inmates stocked the fruits  brought by their relatives, friends and family members and fermented it. They sourced wheat and jaggery discreetly from the prison kitchen and mixed it with the  fermented fruits and added water to it. They stirred them together and filled it in a bucket, which was buried near their block, said a reliable source in prison. The inmates were caught in the act, said the official and added that the department has taken disciplinary action against them under the provision of the Prison Manual Rules. “We have suspended interviews of the prisoners for two months. They will be  not allowed to meet their relatives and friends during this period,“ he added.