The only exercise that Arthur Road Jail inmates get is twiddling their thumbs before court appearances. Now, however, they can get much more than that at the new gymnasium on the premises. While prison officials provided the space, a private trust has donated the equipment.

Prison officials told mid-day that it is for the first time in Maharashtra that a gymnasium has been opened for inmates in a jail, so they can better their mental and physical health. But the space is out of bounds for habitual offenders or hardened criminals, said a prison official. "The gym facility is given to inmates who are not accused of serious crimes or whose sentence is for less than five years. We don't allow inmates who have been imprisoned for murder, attempt to murder, cheating, MCOCA, etc," he said.