BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Monday issued premature release orders of 16 convicts including three lodged at a jail in Visakhapatnam. The three - K Venkat Rao, R Chinna and Gedala Appa Rao - were apprehended by Parlakhemundi police in Gajapati district for committing dacoity and murder at Chintapalli village on November 22, 1992.
They were convicted under Sections 396 and 457 of IPC and Section 3 of Indian Explosives Act and awarded life imprisonment by the Additional Sessions Judge Court on March 16, 1994. Orissa High Court had later dismissed their appeal and upheld the judgement of the Additional Sessions Judge Court. As they are natives of Srikakulam district, they were transferred to Andhra Pradesh after their conviction.
"Convicted prisoners who are undergoing life sentence, can be considered for premature release if they have served 14 years of imprisonment. Besides this, the convicts conduct inside the jail and views of the District Magistrate and SP on whether there will be any adverse impact if they are released, were taken into consideration before deciding on their premature release," DG (Prisons) Santosh Kumar Upadhyay told The New Indian Express.
As per the provisions of CrPC, the State Review Committee recommended the premature release of three convicts lodged in Visakhapatnam jail, one each in Choudwar, Banpur, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Puri, Koraput, Kotpad, Balangir and Jamujhari open jail, and two convicts each in Balasore and Baripada jails.