E-Paper
Maharashtra prisons release 400 inmates from 60 prisons in decongestion drive
The prisons in Maharashtra have released 400 prisoners in three days as part of the decongestion effort in the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic
The prisons in Maharashtra have released 400 prisoners in three days as part of the decongestion effort in the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. The releases were done on May 12, 20, and 21, according to the records maintained by the prison department.
Taloja jail released 23 prisoners on emergency parole along with Pune’s Yerawada central that released six, Aurangabad central released seven and Amravati central released six more. Therefore, a total of 42 prisoners were released on emergency parole.
Additionally, 358 prisoners were released on bail from 60 prisons. However, Osmanabad district prison which is housing the maximum number of active cases currently has not released a single prisoner.
Thane Central jail released 58 prisoners on bail, whereas 41 were released from Yerawada central jail.
Active cases in Maharashtra prisons
The Osmanabad district prison has a whopping number of 130 active cases among prisoners and one among jail staff. With that number, Osmanabad district prison is housing the highest number of Covid-19 patients in the state. The second highest number is currently at Thane central prison with 67 cases. The Kalyan district prison is currently housing 32 active cases of Covid-19. Taloja central and Yerawada central have 13 and six active cases respectively.
Among staff members, Kolhapur district has the highest positive cases with eight staff members Covid positive while Yerawada central has six, followed by five each at Nashik road central, Yavatmal district, and Washim district prisons.
A total of 343 prisoners and 58 jail staff in 47 major prisons of Maharashtra are currently Covid-19 positive and assumed to be undergoing treatment.
First wave vs Second wave
During the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, the population in about 60 state prisons had crossed 36,000. However, based on the Supreme Court direction form state-wise High Powered Committees (HPC) and release prisons on various conditions, upwards of 10,000 prisoners were released until July 2020. This brought the population of the prisons to around 26,000 which are closer to their ideal capacity of 23,000.
However, within months, the population jumped back to 34,000 by the time the second wave started wreaking havoc.
The HPC met on May 7 and 11 this year and decided to restart the process of considering around 12,000 bail applications. It also gave leeway for about 3,000 other applicants, whose previous attempts of gaining bail had failed, to reapply. However, the release process has not gained speed yet.
Temporary prisons
The state machinery has come up with 40 temporary jails in various districts of the state. The total capacity of the temporary prisons is 2,425 and the jails are currently housing 1,084 inmates.
Of the total maximum capacity, 1,995 places are for men while 430 are for women. Currently, the prisons have 1,060 male and 24 female inmates. Pune which started one of the first temporary prisons in the state is housing 265 inmates.
