Delhi prisons authorities on Thursday said that over 6,700 prisoners, who were released either on interim bail or parole in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, will now have to surrender in a phased manner at a temporary jail set up near Mandoli here after the Delhi High Court decided to put an end to the bail extensions granted to them.
According to prison officials, after the surrender of the prisoner, they will have to go through COVID-19 test and those who test negative for coronavirus will be quarantined for 15 days and those who test positive will be sent to a hospital or a COVID care centre.
“The quarantine centre which a temporary jail that had been set up in a police colony near Mandoli jail in northeast Delhi. There are 300 flats in the police colony which has been converted to temporary prison and it can accommodate 2,000 people. At least six inmates would be put up in each flat which has two bedrooms with dinning space keeping in mind social distancing norms,” said the official.
The Delhi High Court on October 20 had said that all undertrials whose bail period was extended prior to and during COVID-19 lockdown have to surrender in a phased manner between November 2 and November 13.
The court also said that the order would also be applicable to 356 prisoners who were granted bail by the high court and they would have to surrender before jail authorities on November 13.
According to Sandeep Goel, the Director General of Prison, with inmates set to return, jail authorities have made massive arrangements and taken adequate precautions to ensure safety in order to combat the further spread of coronavirus.
“According to a high court order issued on October 20, we are expecting around 2,200 inmates to surrender in a phased manner from November 2 to November 13. Out of them, 356 prisoners are those who were granted bail by the high court and would have to surrender before jail authorities on November 13,” said Goel.
“In case any prisoner test positive for coronavirus, the prisoner would be either shifted to a hospital or a COVID care centre by jail authorities under police guard and would still be considered surrendered,” said Goel.
Delhi Prisons comprises Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli jails and the current population of prisoners lodged is around 16,000, the jail authorities said.
A data shared by the Delhi Prisons on October 28 said out of the 96 inmates who had tested positive for COVID-19, 86 have recovered, two died and there are presently eight active cases.
Besides, out of the 235 prison staff who tested positive, 214 have recovered and there are presently 21 active cases. According to jail authorities, out of the 5,500 inmates released on interim bail in view of the pandemic, 3,337 inmates were released on the basis of criteria set by the High Power Committee (HPC)
It has also been decided that 1182 inmates who were out on emergency parole and had to surrender from November 1 will now have to surrender only from November 29.
