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Will death bail Parvati out of Tihar?

Swapna Khanna in New Delhi

At 96, Parvati is the oldest woman inmate of the high-security Tihar Jail.

She was brought there from her residence in Nangloi, west Delhi, on the night of January 8 along with her son Ganga Ram, 50. Parvati and her son have been booked for abduction and rape of a minor.

Though Parvati was granted bail two months ago, she could not arrange for her security deposit. Some inmates did make attempts to collect money for her, but contributions only trickled in.

Now, the old woman is not sure what will come first -- the money or death.

"I am very poor. I do not have any relatives who would help me pay this amount. I am waiting for somebody to help me. If I am not able to arrange the money I will probably die here," she says.

She is still not clear why was she arrested.

"My son is a rickshaw-puller. He lost his first wife two years back."

One evening he returned home with a 15-year-old girl. "They said they were in love and the girl would stay with us," Parvati recalls. "I did not object. But the same night we had policemen at our doorstep. They did not listen to me and along with my son, dragged me to the police station."

Sunita Sabharwal, superintendent of the women's jail, says they all want Parvati to be free. "She has been granted bail from the court, but does not have the money to pay the security. I have asked her fellow inmates to collect half the amount; the rest we will pay," she says.

But the problem is that most of the inmates are not ready to part with their money. "This is the problem here... most prisoners are very poor. Even if they are granted bail they have no money to pay the security deposit, nor do their relatives extend a helping hand," Sabharwal says. "We have 11 such cases in the women's jail itself."

Ruchi Singh, an undertrial, says: "We know the old lady is innocent, it was her son who was to be blamed. We are trying to collect money for her, but not everybody is ready to help, I guess they are saving to pay their own deposits, hoping they too will get bail one day."

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