Mumbai: In the past five years, 28 inmates have managed to escape from the open prisons in the state. On Monday, an inmate had escaped from the Yerwada open prison in Pune.
There are a total of 19 open jails and one open colony in the prison department, in which a total of 1706 inmates live. Out of them, 207 are currently detained in Yerawada Open District Jail.
"Prisoners in closed prisons whose sentences have been reduced and prisoners who have good behavior in prison, after selection through the Open Jail Selection Committee are classified in the respective Open Jail according to the available space of detention capacity in the Open Jail," said a prison official.
The concept of 'open prison'
"Prisoners who are kept in open prisons are mostly indulging in agricultural work. An open prison is one where detainees live without fear and under minimal supervision. Terrorists, drug mafia, or similar criminals, people who commit crimes against women are excluded. Apart from this, those who have good behavior in prisons are selected for open prisons," the official said.
"Open prisons lead to better rehabilitation of prisoners into society and family. Wishing to go to an open prison, a convict keeps his behavior better in a closed prison because he gets a free environment and more amnesty in an open prison. Since in open prisons, inmates move freely under minimal supervision, there is ample scope for them to escape from prisons. But in Maharashtra, the rate of escape of prisoners from open jails is minimal," said the official.
Inmates escaping from open prisons
2019 - 9
2020 - 7
2021 - 3
2022 - 3
2023 - 6
