100 prisoners in Maharashtra jails to get freedom on Gandhiji’s 150th birth anniversary

The prisoners were shortlisted by a four-member committee as per the parameters set by the Centre. The home department will apprise the Centre about the shortlisted prisoners on Monday.

Around 100 prisoners from 12 jails in the state will be set free on the occasion of the 150th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2.

The prisoners were shortlisted by a four-member committee as per the parameters set by the Centre. The home department will apprise the Centre about the shortlisted prisoners on Monday.

The highest number of the prisoners, 25, is from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. Two women prisoners are among the convicts to be freed. The state had appointed the committee to shortlist the prisoners after the Ministry of Home Affairs on remission had asked all states to release the prisoners fulfilling the conditions as a tribute to the humanitarian values Gandhi stood for. The committee consisted of additional chief secretary, home (appeals and security), principal secretary of law and judiciary, director general of police (prisons), and the additional director general of police (prisons).

The special remission is meant for women inmates who are 55 years of age or above and men inmates who are 60 years or above — who have not been convicted of life imprisonment or death penalty. The inmates convicted for heinous crimes such as murder, rape, human trafficking or convicted under the UAPA, POTA, TADA, too, have not been considered for the amnesty scheme. “Most of the convicts being set free have a remaining jail term ranging between two to four years,” said an official of the home department. He also said two more batches of convicts will be released by next Gandhi Jayanti in 2019, though they will be smaller than the first batch.

Maharashtra has 54 jails—including two for women— accommodating 8,500 inmates.