BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has released 1,552 prisoners so far from March-end in pursuance of the Supreme Court directive to decongest prisons in the country in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

“So far we have released 1,552 prisoners, of whom, 1,134 are under-trial prisoners and 418 are convicts,” said DG-Prisons & Correctional Services, Alok Mohan.

Presently there are 15,000 prisoners in the state. On March 23, the SC asked states and the Union Territories to consider releasing under-trial prisoners and convicts charged or convicted for crimes, where the maximum punishment was less than seven years, with or without fine, to decongest prisons. The SC stated that a high-power committee should be constituted, which would decide who could be released.