COVID-19: WB correctional services dept issues fresh list of

The correctional services department in West Bengal has prepared a fresh list of 850 inmates eligible for parole and bail, as part of measures to prevent crowding in jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The development comes a week after the department submitted a list of 3,000 inmates to various courts of the state.

"Out of the initial list, around 1,500 were either granted bail or parole. We have prepared one more list of 850 inmates and forwarded it to the courts to take a decision on the matter," a senior official said.

Around 700 are convicts in the latest list, while the rest are undertrial prisoners, he said.

The Calcutta High Court had in March formed a three- member panel to examine the situation in all correctional homes of West Bengal, and prepare a report on the number of inmates who could be granted bail or parole to avoid crowding in prisons.

The list has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the court, the official said, adding, convicts sentenced to jail for seven years or less are the only ones to make it to the list for parole.

There are around 60 prisons in West Bengal, housing nearly 25,000 inmates. Of them, close to 7,000 are convicts and the rest undertrials.

Earlier, the department had disallowed prison visits by family members.