Srinagar, May 02: In the past one month, Jammu and Kashmir government has released 371 prisoners including 72 inmates serving detention in outside UT jails under Public Safety Act (PSA), official documents reveal.

The decision to release prisoners lodged in both J&K prisons as well as outside jails, in a bid to decongest the jails in the wake of deadly Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed eight lives in J&K affected over 650 people so far.

In J&K UT, Review Committee on release of prisoners took a series of review meetings to review the cases of prisoners to be release in a bid to de-congest UT prisons at a time when pandemic Covid-19 is holding a tight grip on J&K.

Figures of total inmates released from within and outside jails between April 1 to April 30, reveal that 72 PSA detainees were released from April 1 to April 30 that include 19 from Central Jail Kotbalwal,  43 from Central Jail Srinagar  four from Kathua Jail, one from Udhampur and one each from Anantnag,  Baramulla and Kupwara prisons.

Figures suggest that 97 under trials were also released from these jails after a decision by the Under-Trial Review Committee. Besides this 160 other prisoners were also released over the past one month, figures reveal.

Interestingly, 64 detention orders of prisoners from J&K lodged in outside jails were revoked from April 1 to 30 and so far 43 PSA detainees were released.

Figures suggest that from Central Jail Agra (UP), and 23 prisoners lodged at Agra Jail in UP were released, while as two were released from district jail Bareilly, UP, six from District Jail Ambedkar Nagar (UP) and three from District Prison Karnal, Haryana.

Meanwhile, families of many prisoners complained that their loved ones released from various prisons are facing tough time while reaching home. “They are being left out at the God’s mercy with no one ready to ferry them to homes.

Back home, we are not even being given permission to travel outside J&K or even to Jammu so that we could bring our loved ones back in our vehicles,” said a family member, whose relative was released from Agra jail. He said same is the case with all those prisoners who have been released so far. “Not even a single driver agrees to ferry them to Srinagar,” he said. KNO