Maharashtra govt to release upto 11,000 prisoners to decongest jails amid COVID-19 crisis

In a major decision on Friday, the Maharashtra government has decided to release up to 11,000 prisoners on emergency parole amid the novel coronavirus crisis. As per a press note, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh observed that 60,000 people were languishing in 45 prisons across the state. According to him, the prisoners living in congested space could serve as a flashpoint for the spread of COVID-19.  

The prisoners to be released will comprise of undertrials and convicts sentenced to less than 7 years in jail. They will be released on emergency parole for an initial period of 45 days. However, the prisoners will be subjected to a thorough health check-up before their release and will be issued passes to go back to their native places.  

Read the press note here: 

Read: Kerala Reports Highest Number Of COVID-19 Cases At 176 In India, Tests Over 5000 Samples

Punjab government decides to decongest prisons

A day earlier, the Punjab government decided to send 6,000 prisoners from across the state on parole for 6 weeks to decongest the jails in the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis. These include only those prisoners who were sentenced to less than 7 years of imprisonment. 

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Punjab Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa stated that around 24,000 prisoners were lodged in 24 jails across the state as against the sanctioned capacity of 23,488. Recently, the Delhi government too hinted at amending its prison rules to provide the options of special parole and furlough in order to ease the congestion in prisons.

Coronavirus crisis

Currently, there are 640 active COVID-19 cases in India while 17 individuals have died due to the pandemic. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete lockdown in the entire country for three weeks.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled measures to ease the woes of consumers and the corporate sector. This included extending the last date to file IT returns and composition returns to June 30, making customs clearance an essential service, relaxing the mandatory requirement of board meetings for a period of 60 days and so forth.

She followed this up on Thursday by unveiling a financial package worth Rs.1.7 lakh crore to address the needs of the migrant workers, urban and rural poor, women, specially-abled people, and farmers. Some of the key announcements are providing an insurance cover of 50 lakh rupees for health professionals, an increase in MNREGA wages, direct cash transfer to farmers, poor widows and senior citizens, and free gas cylinders to BPL families for the next three months.

Earlier in the day, the RBI cut the policy repo rate and placed a three-month moratorium on payment of EMI providing further relief to the people. 

Read: Health Ministry Confirms 75 New COVID-19 Cases; Highlights Telemedicine Guidelines