Maharashtra to release 17,000 prisoners on temporary parole

The Maharashtra government has decided to release on temporary parole 17,000 of the total 35,000 inmates lodged across jails in the state to contain the spread of the COVID-19, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Tuesday.

Of these, 5,000 undertrial inmates have already been released.

The governments decision comes in view of the 185 inmates at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai contracting the viral disease, Deshmukh said.

He, however, clarified that those convicted in serious cases like that of rape, big financial and bank scams and under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), among others, will not be released.