Coronavirus: UP govt extends parole of over 2200 convicts by 2 months

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to extend by two months special parole granted to 2,234 convicts, a senior official said on Monday.

In a statement, dated May 24, issued here, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said, "As many as 2,234 convicts lodged in various jails of the state were given a special parole of 8 weeks. Now the parole has been extended by additional eight weeks."

Anand Kumar, the DG of the Department of Prisons Administration and Reform, said the convicts were given special parole following the outbreak of COVID-19.

In March this year, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to free 11,000 prisoners from 71 jails to decongest these premises over the fear of spread of COVID-19 there.

The decision came after the Supreme Court had directed all states and union territories to constitute high-level committees to consider releasing on parole or interim bail prisoners and undertrials for offences entailing up to 7-year jail to decongest prisons in the wake of the pandemic.

The top court had said overcrowding of prisons was a matter of serious concern, particularly in the context of coronavirus.