BHUBANESWAR: The State government has granted special remission to 19 prisoners for their premature release from various jails in the State on August 15 as part of Centre’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
The prisoners will be released from the jails in Balasore, Berhampur, Puri, Keonjhar, Choudwar, Koraput and Madanpur Rampur. The Union Home Ministry had earlier issued a set of guidelines to the states and the Union Territories on the grant of special remission to prisoners to commemorate the 75th year of Independence.
The special remission will be granted to a certain category of prisoners. They will be released in three phases on August 15, this year and, January 26 and August 15 next year. The prisoners who will qualify for premature release under the scheme are women and transgender convicts of 50 years of age and male convicts of 60 years and above who have completed 50 per cent of their total sentence period without counting the period of general remission earned.