25 June 2007: Can I have a little more, please?

In May the Indian prisons department outsourced the catering at the main jail in Bangalore, and has run into a serious problem.

The food now being served up in the jail is so much better than the previous government-provided catering the inmates are reluctant to be released. Remand prisoners are refusing to apply for bail, juveniles are overstating their age to get in, and the prison is now overcrowded, operating at twice its official capacity.

The attractive food is being prepared by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu evangelist organisation commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement.

"When we are getting tasty, nutritious food three times a day here, why should we go out and commit crimes," said one prisoner.