UP: Aligarh jail releases nine prisoners, trust fund pays their fine

Nine prisoners have been released from the Aligarh jail in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday on the occasion of  the150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. According to Alok Singh, the Superintendent of Aligarh jail, all the nine prisoners had completed their jail term but could not get out as they failed to pay the cash fine of Rs. 34,500 that was imposed on them. He further revealed that the Radha Rani Vrindavan Trust paid their fine. According to Singh, the prisoners were not involved in any serious crimes. According to the reports, the prisoners were released after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's announcement to release the prisoners. 

CM Adityanath's announcement

CM Yogi Adityanath had made an announcement to release 150 prisoners from each prison across the State. However, only the prisoners who have completed their sentence but could not have been released due to the non-payment of the monetary penalty are released. Further, inmates lodged in district jails of Ghaziabad, Rampur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Bijnor, Aligarh, Bahraich, Khiri, Kanpur, Gautam Budh Nagar, Sultanpur, Meerut, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Mirzapur, Baghpat, Maharajganj, Hardoi, Moradabad, Bareilly, Raebareli, and so on were released.  

However, those convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985 (TADA), Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, are not included in the plan and would not be released.

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Three phases of the release

According to the officials, the release of the prisoners has been carried out in three phases. Earlier, 1,424 prisoners were released by the State and Union Territories in two phases on October 2, 2018, and April 6, 2019. The third phase was carried out on Wednesday with the release of 150 prisoners. 

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(With ANI inputs)