Mumbai: The prisons department of Maharashtra has released more than 5,000 inmates from various prisons of the state till Saturday, an official said.
To prevent the spread of coronavirus infection in overcrowded jails, the prisons department is releasing those inmates who are serving sentences of less than seven years on bail, he said.
At least 11,000 prisoners were expected to be released to decongest prisons, and so far 5,105 have been released on bail, the official added.
582 prisoners have been released from Arthur Road prison in Mumbai, 443 from Thane Central Jail, 498 from Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai, 388 from Yerawada prison in Pune, 214 from Amaravati prison, 216 from Nagpur prison, 187 from Solapur district prison, 177 from Aurangabad Central Prison and 134 from Nashik Central Prison, he said.
