A batch of 406 inmates who were booked for minor offences, were released from Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj and Rajshahi jails on Sunday.
Dhaka Jail Superintendent Iqbal Ahmed said 385 prisoners were freed following the instruction of the Home Ministry due to coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, the Home Ministry decided to release around 2,884 prisoners across the country who were serving jail terms from six month to one year and three to six months to avoid the risk of coronavirus transmission, he said.
Another 555 inmates were freed on April 25 in the first phrase, he added.The 68 jails in the country house around 89,000 inmates, which is more than their capacity, Ahmed said.
To ease the pressure, Rajshahi Central Jail also released 21 prisoners as government has commuted sentence of 33 inmates, said Jail Superintendent Gias Uddin.
The rest will be released soon after they pay their fines, he said.Rajshahi jail is currently accommodating 3,610 inmates while it has capacity of only 1,450 inmates, he added.
On April 9, some 120 prisoners were released from Jashore Jail under a special arrangement in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus among its inmates.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases jumped to 9,455 as a record number of 665 people were diagnosed with the virus in the last 24 hours till Sunday. The death toll from the virus in the country rose to 177 with two more deaths being reported during the period.
source: UNB
