A total of 189 inmates were released from various prisons in Maharashtra on the occasion of the Republic Day on Thursday, an official said.
The state government had issued an order to give special remission to the 189 prisoners.
The prisoners who were released included 35 each from central prisons in Nashik and Nagpur, 20 from Yerwada Central Jail in Pune, 16 from Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai, 11 from Thane Central Jail and four from Mumbai Central Prison (Arthur Road Jail), a prisons department spokesperson said.
The Maharashtra Prisons Department last week said in order to commemorate the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', the Centre has decided to give special remission to certain categories of prisoners on the basis of their good conduct during their term and free them on three occasions - August 15, 2022, January 26, 2023, and August 15, 2023.
Prisoners selected on basis of age, time spent in jail, disabilities and health condition
The prisoners are selected on the basis of their age, time spent in jail, disabilities and health condition, the official said.
The 189 inmates selected for the release on Thursday include 16 who are 60 years of age or above and have completed 50 per cent of the total sentence and 162 are those who have completed two-third part (66 per cent) of the total sentence, jail authorities earlier said.
Ten of these prisoners are aged between 18 and 21 years, who never committed any crime again, while one prisoner belongs to a poor category, who completed the sentence but could not be released due to non-payment of fine imposed on him or her, they had said.
There are total 60 jails in the state, including nine central prisons. As of November 2022, the total number of inmates in these jails was more than 40,000.
