HYDERABAD: This Independence Day could bring real freedom for some of the prisoners as the State government is likely to free those who consistently maintain good conduct, before completing their sentence. The development comes after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed officials to prepare a list of eligible prisoners in wake of the pandemic. Highly placed sources from the Prisons Department said they were closely working on the guidelines to remit prisoners with long-term ailments as they were more susceptible to COVID.
“We are working to ensure relief to persons who are suffering from serious and prolonged illness,” said an officer on the condition of anonymity. He added that around 300 prisoners would be remitted. However, as per rules a committee of doctors has to certify that the inmate’s condition is serious. As the government is determined to complete the task in less than a month, this would be a challenging task for the Prisons Department officials.
The Express reached out to a prisoner from the Central prisons who said that elderly persons and those with prolonged illness were mentally affected because of the pandemic. Recently, Kondaveeti Satyavathi, a Jail Advisory Committee member in her recommendations to the Home Department said that some of the prisoners were suffering from diabetes, osteoporosis and other geriatric problems. “In such a situation, the government may consider releasing inmates who are suffering from illness on humanitarian grounds.”