In a first, Governor orders release of ‘eligible prisoners’ during Durga Puja

Kolkata: Governor C V Ananda Bose has ordered the release of “eligible prisoners” during Durga Puja.

In an unprecedented move, Raj Bhavan informed Nabanna about the special remission of sentence and release of 71 term convicts during the Durga Puja.

Besides the 71 term convicts who are Indian citizens, 16 foreign prisoners are also being considered for release with the approval of the Centre.

The Union government had initiated the scheme for the release of prisoners to commemorate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ on the occasion of the 75th year of Independence of India. The Governor had raised certain queries about the norms with the state government in choosing the ‘suitable’ ones from among the ‘eligible’ prisoners. He insisted on objective norms to be followed by the Bengal government in the matter to avoid arbitrariness in the selection of prisoners.

However, Raj Bhavan said that a “satisfactory response” from the state was not received. Hence, the issue remained pending for some time.

The Governor has now ordered the release of the term convicts on humanitarian grounds after giving strict instructions to the state government to follow objective norms. Raj Bhavan also proposed a committee to look into the pros and cons of the issue and suggest a foolproof mechanism in the selection of ‘suitable’ prisoners from among the ‘eligible’ ones for release. This is the first time in Bengal that the term convicts are considered to be released as part of the Puja festivities, said Raj Bhavan.