Amid the Covid-19 crisis, jails across the State released 2,963 inmates on Thursday.
The decision in this regard had been made after the Supreme Court ordered the States to consider releasing some inmates on parole to reduce overcrowding because of coronavirus outbreak, said DG of Prisons Santosh Upadhyay.
The released prisoners, however, would be under constant watch of the jail authorities and would be tracked on a daily basis by special committees to ensure that they do not escape, he said.
The number of prisoners released on parole is nine and that of those released on bail are 2661. The prisoners released on other grounds number 293.