Father John Puthuva sits on a bench at the waiting area just outside the Kakkanad District Jail in Kochi. He has recently completed 25 years as a prison counsellor. While studying at St. Joseph’s Seminary, at Aluva (28 km from Kochi), once a week he would go and say prayers for the prisoners at the local jails. This experience led him to become a prison counsellor.
With the monsoon setting in, the 20-foot high walls surrounding the prison are getting drenched. On the opposite bench sits a young woman with a baby.
Another woman in her 50s is holding a transparent plastic packet filled with toiletries. At a distance, a small gate opens and a policeman hollers these ladies.
As Father John watches them enter the jail, he says, “It’s a social embarrassment for the family when a member is jailed. People whisper to each other when they walk on the street. Children are told not to interact with the convict’s children. The wife has to face harsh words from shopkeepers because the dues keep mounting.”
However, not everybody in jail has committed a crime. He tells the story of a man named Suresh who had committed a murder and then stayed over at his friend Anil’s house. “Anil did not know that Suresh had just committed a crime.
"The next morning when Suresh left he was caught by the police and Anil was also arrested. It’s been three years but the case is still open. For no fault of his, Anil is in jail,” says he.
Father John offers counselling primarily to career criminals who kill people for a living. “I tell them that murder is a grievous sin in any religion. I ask them to focus on their families, believe in God, and learn to behave in a law-abiding way in society,” he adds. But the road to redemption is not easy.
“There are many who belong to gangs and find it difficult to break away. Having said that there have been many who have managed to break free and lead straight lives once again. Through the support of the jail authorities, we provide moral support to the convicts so that they remain strong,” says the priest who has worked in many jails in Kerala, and has had a three-year stint at Tihar Jail, from 2013 to 2016.
In the past, he has organised football and cricket matches for the inmates.
“Former cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh and former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia have played with us.” As our conversation meanders to a close, Father John, who is now the parish priest of St George’s Church at Kalady, says, “I came to this jail to meet the superintendent so that, during Onam, I can sponsor a special lunch for the prisoners to celebrate my 25 years.”