Fancy a birthday cake from Thane jail?

The prisoners with the cakes they had prepared

You can now order your birthday cake straight from Thane Central Jail. The cakes are baked by the inmates who have taken vocational training in bakery production under the supervision of a certified nutritionist. The available cake varieties are black forest, pineapple, chocolate, cupcake, sponge cake and other
bakery products.

The order for the cake (minimum 1 kg) could be placed at the prison showroom located outside the Thane Central Jail near the old RTO office at Thane. "Earlier the cakes were only baked during the Christmas season, but now we have started it on a daily basis. The more and more order we get the more our inmates get work to do. "During the Christmas season in December 2023, we sold 721 kg of sponge cake and 18,181 cupcakes for Rs 4.50 lakh. From January to March, we regularly get orders from NGOs for cupcakes, sponge cakes and birthday cakes on a frequent basis. We only take orders in bulk. One can order a day in advance and collect the order from the showroom outside the Thane Central Jail," said Rani Bhosle, superintendent of Thane Central Jail.

Baked goods

In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Thane Central Jail is the only prison facility that has a bakery and has been engaged in producing products like pav, khari and cakes. The products were earlier sent to Arthur Road, Byculla, Taloja, Kalyan jails and government offices. But with time and to encourage the inmates, the jail authorities started taking orders from the general public. You would have to order it from the showroom.

The Thane Central Jail recently gave vocational training to inmates through the joint programme of Thane Central Jail and Chamber of Small Industry Associations. From February 22 to March 28, 2024, about 25 inmates enthusiastically participated and received training to bake 25 types of items such as biscuits, bread, naankatai, chocolate balls, chocolate and marble cake.

"Providing vocational training to inmates not only equips them with skills for potential employment upon release but also facilitates in their rehabilitation and reintegration into society, which reduces the likelihood of them returning to a life of crime. The fact that these bakery products are made available for public order is commendable, as it not only supports the vocational training programme but also provides a means for the public to contribute to the rehabilitation process," said Amitabh Gupta, additional director general of police and inspector general of prisons and correctional services.

The inmates who successfully completed the training were recently given certificates by Thane police commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre, jail superintendent Rani Bhosale and Sujata Soparkar, president (TISSA).

"Professional training will be given to the maximum number of inmates in the prison and efforts will be made by the prison administration that inmates make use of this training on their release from prison," said Gupta, who recommended trying the products made by the inmates as they are of good quality and nutritious.

721 kg
Volume of cake sold during in Christmas 2023