The Tihar Central Jail authority has released over 400 inmates to reduce overcrowding in prisons to prevent the spread of COVID-19, officials said on Saturday.
A senior jail official said that 356 inmates were released on bail, while 63 inmates were released on emergency parole.
The interim bail is for 45 days and emergency parole is for eight weeks, the official said.
Earlier on Monday, the prison authorities had said they were planning to release around 3,000 prisoners to ease congestion in jails due the COVID-19 threat.
Dangerous criminals
Hardened or dangerous criminals will not be released, they had said.
The order stated that prisoners convicted or charged for offences carrying jail terms of up to seven years can be given parole.
