PUNE: The Maharashtra government has granted amnesty to over 90 convicted prisoners in jails across the state to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The prisoners, who have completed 66% of their sentences and have a good behaviour record, will be released on October 5. “The state government has granted amnesty proposal of the prisoners, who were convicted in non-heinous crimes, and are currently serving their sentences. We will soon issue instructions to the respective jail superintendents to complete the procedure,” inspector general (prisons) Vithhal Jadhav told TOI.
The Union cabinet had decided to release the convicts in 2017. The plan was executed in three phases. First, the cabinet issued a set of guidelines to the state government to consider inmates for special remission. A four-member committee was formed to scrutinize the recommended prisoners’ records. The records were then verified by jail superintendents before submitting their names for remission.
The eligible prisoners include women, transgenders, senior citizens, physically challenged and terminally ill inmates. “The prisoners who have been awarded death sentence or life imprisonment and those convicted for serious crimes like rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, terrorism or organized crimes were not considered for the amnesty,” a jail officer said.
“We have recommended 24 inmates for the special remission based on their good behaviour records,” superintendent of Yerawada jail U T Pawar said.
Another prison official said the remissions encourages the inmates to have good behaviour records. “Since Independence, the state has granted remissions on six occasions, including the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, 50 years of Independence in 1977 and the 125th anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar last year,” another official said.
Picture used for representational purpose
