At least 1,000 undertrials released on bail in Bengal

At least 1,000 undertrial prisoners have been released from various correctional homes in West Bengal on interim bail in keeping with the Supreme Court's directions to consider decongesting the jails in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said here on Friday.

The process of granting bail to the undertrials commenced on March 23, State Legal Services Authority secretary Durga Khaitan said.

Following the apex court's direction, the Calcutta High Court had formed a three-member committee to examine the situation in correctional homes in the state and the number of inmates who can be granted bail or parole to decongest the jails.

The committee is headed by Calcutta High Court judge Justice Dipankar Datta, who is also the chairman of State Legal Services Authority, while the Director General (Prisons) and Principal Secretary of the Home Department are the members.