7,200 inmates released from Odisha jails

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has released over 7,200 under-trial prisoners and convicts on bail and parole from prisons to decongest the jails in view of the coronavirus pandemic, a senior official said on Sunday.

At least 1,160 jail inmates have also been relocated to less congested prisons as part of precautionary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, the official said.

"As many as 7,255 prisoners, including 389 convicts, have been released as a temporary measure to decongest the jails by following a thorough judicial process since the third week of March," he said.

While the convicts have been released through parole, the 6,866 undertrial prisoners were set free through bail allowed by the courts.