UP: 9 prisoners walk free from Aligarh jail on Gandhi Jayanti

Nine prisoners were released from the district jail in Aligarh on Wednesday on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The nine prisoners had completed their jail term but could not get out as they failed to pay the cash fine imposed on them.

"Radha Rani Vrindavan Trust has paid their fine. Their total fine was Rs 34,500. They were not involved in serious crimes," Jail Superintendent, Alok Singh told media.

One of the prisoners, Mustafa, said that it is a day of independence for me. "I was charged under the NDPS act. I will lead a good life now," he said.

The prisoners were released after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the release of 150 prisoners from prisons across the state, who have completed their sentence but cannot be released due to the non-payment of monetary penalty.

As per the Chief Minister's order, inmates lodged in district jails of Ghaziabad, Rampur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Bijnor, Aligarh, Bahraich, Khiri, Kanpur, Gautam Budh Nagar, Sultanpur, Meerut, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Mirzapur, Baghpat, Maharajganj, Hardoi, Moradabad, Bareilly, Raebareli, etc., were released.