The jails department of Punjab issued guidelines on Saturday for sending rakhis to prison inmates on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on August 3. "The Jails department has issued detailed directions in this regard with time to receive the rakhis from 8.30 am to 5 pm," an official statement said.
According to Additional Director General of Police (Jails) Praveen Kumar Sinha, all the superintendents of jails have been directed that no physical meeting will be allowed on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. There should be proper arrangements at the outer gate of every jail, the ADGP said, adding that a table would be placed at the gate where the rakhis would be received.
The rakhis should be properly packed and sanitised before being sent inside a jail, he said. The officer asserted that social distancing should be maintained properly. He said the packet of a rakhi must carry a slip bearing the name of the inmate and the same should be delivered to him within an hour.
An officer must be deputed with the security staff at the outer gate for checking and sanitising the packets, the ADGP said. No sweets will be allowed and only the rakhis will be delivered to the inmates, he said.