Following guidelines issued by the Supreme Court and the High Court, the authorities of Visakhapatnam Central Prison released 74 inmates, who included seven women, on interim bail to reduce overcrowding and curtail the risk of COVID-19 spread, here on Tuesday.
Among those released were 53 undertrials and 21 convicts. Among the undertrials, 47 were from Visakhapatnam and the remaining from Vizianagaram, East Godavari and Srikakulam. Among the convicts, 15 were from Visakhapatnam district, five from Vizianagaram and one from to Srikakulam.
The prisoners were released in the presence of Seventh Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Jagadeesh Kumar and Superintendent of Visakhapatnam Central Prison S. Rahul.
“The Prisoners have been given passes and the police have also been informed about their release. They shall have to come back to the jail after one month,” said Mr. Rahul.