The Kolkata Maidan on Tuesday witnessed a unique football match on Tuesday where inmates of the two central correctional playing for an annual football trophy.
For the handful of spectators who had assembled at the East Bengal ground to witness the contest it was difficult to believe that those on the field were convicts, undertrials and not professional footballers. The speed of the game, well-coordinated passing, precise kicks made the match appear like a professional club-level contest.
After a close contest, the inmates of Presidency Central Correctional Home lifted the Vivek Cup and defeated the Dum Dum Correctional Home. The victory for Presidency Correctional Home came with two goals from Nigerain forward Jude Chikenzie.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr Chikenzie, an undertrial at the Presidency Correctional Home, said that he is behind bars for over past one year and was in the city to play for football when he landed up in jail for passport related issues.
The 35-year-old Nigerian described himself as a professional footballer and said he had stints with the Sitra and Al-Ittihad football clubs in Bahrain. He said that he had dreams of playing for clubs in Kolkata but instead landed in prison.
Along with him there were two other Nigerian players who played a key role in the victory of Presidency Correctional Home.
“The tournament is for convicts but we allowed undertrial Nigerials to play. This is perhaps the only open football tournament being played in the country involving jail inmates,” Additional Director General (Prisons & Correctional Services) Adhir Sharma told The Hindu .
As per the data, Nigerians comprise the third largest number of foreigners lodged in correctional homes of the State after Bangladeshis and Myanmarese.
It was not only inmates like Mr Chikenzie who are seeking redemption through the beautiful game, but to many convicts it is an opportunity that they cherish.
Raju Seal, convicted for murdering his wife, said that to him his life seems to have no purpose. “I had played football earlier, this year when I was approached I felt delighted. The game is something that provides me solace,” he said.
Though the cultural activities by inmates had started nearly a decade ago, the sports tournament is a relatively new phenomenon. This was the third edition of Vivek Cup, the authorities said. Along with football and kabaddi, which is popular among the inmates, Mr Sharma said that attempts are on to have cricket teams and a cricket tournament.
