Tihar releases 400 inmates to decongest prisons© hindustantimes.com

Tihar releases 400 inmates to decongest prisons

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Authorities at Delhi’s Tihar Jail on Saturday released over 400 prisoners to decongest prisons amid the coronavirus pandemic that has infected at least 929 people in India and caused 25 deaths, PTI reported.

An unidentified jail official told PTI that out of the total 419 prisoners, 356 were released on an interim bail for 45 days, while the remaining 63 were released on an eight-week emergency parole. More prisoners would be released over the next few days, the official added.

This was done after the the Aam Aadmi Party government amended prison rules last week to provide convicts the options of getting special parole and furlough to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections in crowded prisons. The amended prison rules provide for 60-day parole in case of unprecedented situations like an epidemic or a natural disaster or any other situation which mandates reducing of the population of the inmates.