80 inmates got job offers and some were selected by more than one company. As a result 104 appointment orders were made.

New Delhi: Raj Kumar, a prisoner lodged in Tihar, had once lost all hope of a normal life but with his perseverence he managed to complete his MBA and has now been offered a salary of Rs 6,00,000 per annum.

Kumar is not the only one. Four other inmates of Tihar jail were also offered the same package by different companies that recruited 80 inmates, including 10 women, during a placement drive on the jail premises today.

"This is a record breaking achievement for us. The results of the campus placement conducted this time is extraordinary.80 inmates got job offers and some were selected by more than one company. As a result 104 appointment orders were made. Four inmates were offered a pay package of Rs 50,000 per month," Deputy Inspector General, R N Sharma said.

This was the third such exercise this year involving companies from hospitality and construction sectors to help rehabilitate prisoners after their release and the first which included women inmates.

"This clearly reflects that our inmates are talented and society is ready to accept them. One of the inmate who was offered the job of a driver with a pay package of 84,000 per annum will be released tonight and wil start work from tomorrow," Sharma said.

In the earlier two campus placements conducted this year, 95 inmates were absorbed in different companies. "Of the 80 inmates this time, 10 were women prisoners and all were selected," he said.

According to annual survey report of 2011, women inmates top the chart for murder, kidnapping and abduction, dowry death and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances cases, as against the male counterparts.

The campus selection drive at Tihar is considered the brain child of Superintendent of Jail No 3, M K Dwivedi, who said, "We realised that the criminal background of an inmate worked against him while searching for a job.

"So reforming prisoners and making them professionally qualified was not enough. This job placement will help prevent them from committing crimes in the future."

Fifteen companies including Hotel Rockland, Tourism Management Institute, UNIBILD Engineering and Construction Company Pvt Ltd, Millennium Builders, Aggrawal Packers and Movers, Predo Security and Vedanta Foundation participated in this drive.

Sunil Gupta, spokesperson and law officer Tiharsaid, the shortlisted candidates for the campus placement have to satisfiy the criteria that their sentence or judicial custody is likely to come to an end within one year or six months.

The first recruitment drive was conducted on February 25 where 46 inmates were absorbed in different capacities in various organisations. Many other companies approached the jail authorities and they were compelled to conduct the second job placement on July 27 in which over 50 inmates had participated.

"This job placement initiative by Tihar Prisons is the best initiative of Tihar Prisons. I was selected by a renowned company in the first campus placement. I performed well and today I have earned another job in a matter of six months with a hike in pay package and position too," said an inmate who was recruited in the first campus placement of Tihar Prisons conducted on February 25.

Tourism Management Institute Managing director, Surender Kumar said, "Many inmates are first time offenders and we believe when they say that they will improve. If we do not accept them and give them a chance, this jail sentence will not help. Once released, they will turn to crime if society does not accept them. We have conducted courses and realised many are talented enough."

PTI