Bhubaneswar: As many as 5,670 prisoners have been released from all 90 jails of the state in order to decongest the establishments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the data available with the State Prisons and Correctional Directorate, 5,309 inmates managed to secure bails including interim bails from the courts between March 20 and May 1.
Many under-trials were also released after depositing provisional bonds during the period.
Similarly, the directorate also released 11 prisoners on parole while 350 others have been granted special furlough as well.
The Director General for the Prisons Directorate, Santosh Kumar Upadhyaya, expressed satisfaction over the smooth and quick steps being taken by the under-trial review committees functioning at the district-level for the release of prisoners.
Earlier, the prisons department had released 3,481 jail inmates till April 16 since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country in March.
Following the instructions of the Supreme Court of India, the state governments have been releasing prisoners to lessen the jail population in order to restrict the spread of the virus in the jails of the state.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that new prisoners are being tested at the nearby hospitals for COVID-19 infection before allowing them entry into the jails.
The suspected new inmates are also being placed under quarantine for 14 days before allowing them to share jail cells with other inmates.
All the activities by NGOs in the jails have been suspended too. The prisons department is also putting stress on arrangement for ‘e-mulakats’ (e-meetings) between the inmates and their family members.
