COVID-19: WB correctional services dept issues fresh list of

Kolkata, Apr 8 () The correctional servicesdepartment in West Bengal has prepared a fresh list of 850inmates eligible for parole and bail, as part of measures toprevent crowding in jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The development comes a week after the departmentsubmitted a list of 3,000 inmates to various courts of thestate.

"Out of the initial list, around 1,500 were eithergranted bail or parole. We have prepared one more list of 850inmates and forwarded it to the courts to take a decision onthe matter," a senior official said.

Around 700 are convicts in the latest list, while therest are undertrial prisoners, he said.

The Calcutta High Court had in March formed a three-member panel to examine the situation in all correctionalhomes of West Bengal, and prepare a report on the number ofinmates who could be granted bail or parole to avoid crowdingin prisons.

The list has been prepared in accordance with theguidelines laid down by the court, the official said, adding,convicts sentenced to jail for seven years or less are theonly ones to make it to the list for parole.

There are around 60 prisons in West Bengal, housingnearly 25,000 inmates. Of them, close to 7,000 are convictsand the rest undertrials.