In a bid to decongest jails inview of the coronavirus outbreak, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday released 412 prisoners from various facilities, taking their total number to 2117 in the last five days, an official said.The government had decided to release those prisoners who are serving jail terms for a period of less than seven years, an official said.Accordingly, the Prisons department started releasing such prisonerson bail from March 27, he said, adding that 412 prisoners were released on Wednesday.While 272 prisoners have been released from the Mumbai Central Prison, 236 ohers were released from Thane and 176 from the Taloja Central Prison, he said, adding that 26 women inmates were released from Byculla prison.A total of 161 prisoners were released from Yerawada Central Prison in Pune, 121 from Nagpur jail, and 134 others from Amaravati, he said.In Aurangabad region, 68 prisoners were released from the Aurangabad Central Prison and 70 others from the Nashik Road Central Prison, he added.
