Maharashtra: 26 convicts refuse emergency parole, cite various reasons

At least 26 convicts were eligible for emergency parole due to the Covid19 situation in Maharashtra but they refused the temporary release from prison fearing they may become a burden on their families outside and fail to get to a job officials said on TuesdaySome of the convicts also chose to complete their term and then leave the prison they saidIn a bid to check the spread of Covid19 at prisons in Maharashtra the state Home department took various steps including decongesting the prisonsAccordingly a government committee conducted a review wherein it came to light that some convicts eligible for the emergency parole were not interested in availing it officials saidA cheating case convict hailing from Odisha and currently lodged at the Taloja Central Prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai told the authorities he may be a burden on his family if he goes out on emergency parole the prison superintendent saidAlso Read Covid19 Mumbai cases dive to 676 lowest in second waveSome convicts also fear they may not get a job outside due to the Covid19 situation the official saidThe prisoner from Odisha told us he wants to keep earning wages for his work inside the prison he saidThe Taloja prison had three convicts eligible for emergency parole Two of them who were behind bars in theft cases completed their jail term last week he saidMumbais Arthur Road Central Prison superintendent said We have two convicts who are eligible for emergency parole but they have chosen to remain in the jail to complete the term of their sentenceOut of them one will complete his jail term in next five days and the other one in October this year he saidWe are providing all necessary medical facilities We have separate Covid19 centres for prisoners and are also conducting their tests That is why some prisoners may be feeling safe inside amid the pandemic the official saidHe also said though the prison is overcrowded there is no Covid19 case in the facility as on dateLast month the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court that many prisoners prefer staying inside the jailThe court was hearing a petition taken up suo motu on its own on the increasing number of Covid19 cases in the state prisonsAdvocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni appearing for the state government had said 26 inmates across the prisons in Maharashtra were eligible for parole but most of them did not wish to leaveSome feel safer inside the prison Some of them do not have resources to sustain outside and some others have a few months of sentence left and so they want to complete their entire sentence in one stretch and then finally leave the prison Kumbhakoni saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever