Nagpur, Jul 4 (PTI) Around 11,000 inmates have been released temporarily from Maharashtra jails so far to reduce crowding in view of coronavirus outbreak, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Saturday.

He was speaking to reporters after a visit to Nagpur Central Jail where 41 inmates and 56 staff tested positive for the infection in the last four days.

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"There are 37,000 inmates in Maharashtra's jails. Of these, 11,000, including those facing up to seven years imprisonment, have been released on parole to maintain social distancing norms in prisons. So far, 414 prisoners have tested positive for novel coronavirus in the state, and 281 of them have been released on parole," he said.

"A total of 162 prison staff have tested positive so far. Nine jails have been placed under lockdown to control the virus spread," he added.

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)