Coronavirus: 7,200 inmates released from Odisha jails
At least 1,160 jail inmates have also been relocatedto less congested prisons as part of precautionary measures tocontain the spread of COVID-19, the official said.
"As many as 7,255 prisoners, including 389 convicts,have been released as a temporary measure to decongest thejails by following a thorough judicial process since the thirdweek of March," he said.
While the convicts have been released through parole,the 6,866 undertrial prisoners were set free through bailallowed by the courts.
Mentioning that the move to decongest the jails byreleasing some of the inmates started over 40 days ago, theofficial said that the district undertrial review committee,led by judges, took the decision to grant bail after goingthrough the records of the inmates.
Those involved in cases inviting a maximum punishmentof 10 years were given priority, he said.
Similarly the ones who have already served at leastfive years sentence were considered for parole.
The Supreme Court had in March issued a directive tothe states to constitute high-level committees to considerreleasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and under-trialsfor offences entailing up to a 7-year jail term to decongestjails in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Steps have also been taken to place new prisonersunder quarantine for a stipulated period before allowing themto share jail cells with other inmates, a home departmentofficial said.
The prison directorate has also sanctioned fund forpurchase of infrared thermometers to conduct thermal screeningof jail employees as well as prisoners, he said.
All NGO activities in the jails have been suspendedfor the time being, while steps have been taken for arranging'e-mulakats' (e-meetings) between the inmates and their familymembers, he said.
Jail officials and employees, including cooks, havebeen asked to maintain hygiene.
The state has 85 jails with a capacity to accomodateover 19,000 inmates. At present there are around 16,000inmates. SKNMM MM