32 convicts to be freed from MP jails on Birsa Munda Jayanti

In a first of its kind initiative in India, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is going to release 32 prisoners, including nine from tribal communities, from 11 jails of the state on grounds of good conduct on November 15 to mark ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ (Tribal Pride Day), celebrated on Tribal King and freedom fighter Lord Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary.

This year will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda.

Advertisement

Till now, prisoners with good conduct were released from jails before completing their terms, mostly on Independence Day (15 August), Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti (2 October), Republic Day (26 January), and Ambedkar Jayanti (14 April). This will be the first time that 32 jail inmates will be set free in MP on Tribal Pride Day, making it the fifth such occasion for prisoners’ mid-term release.

According to officials, the release of the prisoners is an initiative by Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai C Patel, who also belongs to a tribal community.

However, prisoners with serious offences would not be released.

According to IG (Prisons) Sanjay Pandey, no convict serving a sentence in cases of rape or the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) will be released. He said neither would any inmate convicted in two separate murder cases be freed.

Pandey said the remissions apply only to convicts who have served more than 14 years of their life sentence and maintained good conduct.

The convicts set to be released are lodged in 11 central jails across the state.