53 convicts refuse to take advantage of emergency parole: ADG Prisons

PUNE Prisons in Maharashtra have 53 convicts who have refused to take advantage of emergency parole, granted in an attempt to decongest overpopulated prisons

PUNE Prisons in Maharashtra have 53 convicts who have refused to take advantage of emergency parole, granted in an attempt to decongest overpopulated prisons.

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“There are 53 inmates in Maharashtra who have refused to leave the facility during this process. They get food, a place to live, and clothes. They do not wish to leave. If they choose, they can be released with one application. The High Court has also allowed for them to stay back if they so choose,” said Sunil Ramanand, additional director general of police, Prisons, Maharashtra.

Forty-six prisons in Maharashtra currently house 4,863 convicts, of which 4,122 are vaccinated with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The administering of a second dose has also begun in some prisons for convicts, as well as under-trials, according to ADG Ramanand.

Along with the traditional prisons, the prison department has 52 temporary prisons in the state. Therefore, the same machinery and number of officials that handled a 33,000-36,000 inmate population before the pandemic, is now handling a floating population of an additional 12,00-13,000 inmates in temporary prisons.

So far, 10 prison staff and 13 inmates have died due to the Covid-19 infection. Covid care centres and isolation facilities have also been established. However, to supplement the existing strength of 116 doctors, the state government has allowed for recruitment of 10 more doctors in the prisons.

Easing the pressure on the health and security infrastructure of prisons, the strength of the prisons in Maharashtra had reduced by 10,000 during the first wave in 2020, when the decongestion process began. However, it quickly mushroomed back to its original strength. To this, ADG Ramanand said that inmates released for decongestion will not be brought back while the pandemic lasts, unlike some other states in the country.

“As long as the Epidemic Diseases Act is in force, I have no intention of bringing back the released inmates. It can be thought of when the act is pulled back,” he said.

Even with decongestion, the total population of the prisons is 33,719, with 13,000 in temporary prisons. The largest population is in Yerawada central prison which has 5,000 inmates.

The current condition of the prisons has necessitated expansion and reduction of the number of under-trials. The proposal for a new prison in Mumbai is a step in that direction, if the proposal sees the light of day.