BENGALURU: As part of the year-long celebrations to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, 48 convicts were released from various prisons of the state, on Friday.In Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara, 15 convicts, including a woman, were released. The release was in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, following the decision of the Central government to release convicts with short-term punishment, as part of celebrations of Gandhi's birth anniversary.
DIG (Prisons) H S Revanna told The New Indian Express that several programs were chalked out by the prison department as part of the celebrations, as per the direction of the MHA. “The scheme is meant for only those convicts undergoing short-term punishment. The MHA guidelines had specified that a convict needs to have served a specific period of jail term to be eligible for premature release. Lifer convicts were not eligible for release under this scheme”.