We had earlier reported that around 1,000 remand and undertrial prisoners who are sentenced to less than seven years imprisonment in Kerala, would be granted parole till April 30. Nearly 1400 prisoners were granted bail too. Now, the latest is that the jail department has recommended granting parole to elderly prisoners - males above 60 years of age and females above 50 years of age. The decision was made so as to reduce the crowding in jails and contain the spread.

A letter in this regard is said to be forwarded to Home Secretary by the jail department chief. If the recommendation gets approved, 108 prisoners will get parole for 45 days. It looks like, the coronavirus outbreak has become a blessing for the prisoners in Kerala.

As on Wednesday, the state has reported 345 cases of coronavirus.