Of the 66 convicted prisoners that were released on parole during the Covid-induced lockdown in Mumbai, 21 prisoners have not yet returned back to jail even though an order was issued for them to return as Covid restrictions were lifted last year. The commissioner of police, in a statement on Thursday, instructed local police stations to arrest the absconding prisoners and send them back to jail at the earliest.
A total of 27 prisoners returned to jail on their own after the notice was issued last year. According to the Mumbai police, it nabbed at least 18 people of the 66 who had been convicted by the courts and were released on parole during the outbreak.
In March 2020, the Supreme Court asked the state governments to examine the decongestion of jails due to the surge in Covid cases and as per the guidelines, the Maharashtra government set up a committee for the release of inmates under parole and furlough, with over 4,000 prison inmates all over the state being released. This decision was taken to prevent further spread of the virus.
In May 2021, the government issued a new order asking inmates to return back to their respective jails. However, many of these convicts failed to return. “The Mumbai Police recently launched a special operation to track and arrest the convicts who have jumped parole and failed to return back to prisons,” an official said.
Those who did not return to jail were booked under section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code and the local police officials have been instructed to arrest and send them back to jail at the earliest.
