The number of cases for the coronavirus or COVID-19 in Maharashtra has soared up to 1,872 while the death toll in the state has reached 110 which is the highest in any other state across the country.
As this happens, Maharashtra Home Department issued an order to lockdown five prisons in Mumbai, Thane and Pune till further notice in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Since these five prisons are located in coronavirus affected areas, the decision to close these prisons came from the Maharastra Home Ministry. The prisons to go under lockdown include Arther Road jail, Thane prison, Yerawada Prison, Byculla Prison and Kalyan Prison.
According to the order issued by Maharashtra Home Ministry, these prisons will be placed under complete lockdown meaning that no one will be admitted or will be allowed to go out including the prison staff.
Additional Director General (Prisons and Correctional Services) Sunil Ramanand informed that medically examined prison staff will lock themselves up until further orders and will have to administer the prison without stepping out.
Moreover, the food and accommodation for the prison staff will be made inside these prisons. Deshmukh also informed that the contact numbers of senior prison officials will be shared with families of the staff so that they can be contacted during any emergency.
The Maharashtra government has already started releasing undertrials inmates on provisional bail in order to control the crow menace in jails. According to a TOI report, of the 36,000 prisoners in various state jails, around 3,400 have been released till April 8 after courts granted 45-ay provisional bail to these inmates.
Earlier, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had informed that 11,000 prisoners will be released on emergency parole due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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