india

Updated: Aug 04, 2016 12:09 IST

An inmate at Nagpur Central Prison, convicted of rape, was released before his term ended because he topped the yoga examinations conducted by the Maharashtra Prisons Department.

Yogesh Desai, the superintendent of Nagpur Central Prison said Sheetal Kawale, who was convicted for raping his relative in 2012, was released 40 days before his prison term ended. Kawale succeeded in the test which has 100 marks, scoring a distinction. So, he was granted 40-day remission or reduction of sentence, he said.

According to the jail superintendent, over 100 inmates have qualified for the remission in due course but Kawale and one more convict are being freed as they were close to the period.

The jail authorities reduced the sentence of prisoners who scored good marks in yoga in the wake of Union government’s directives to promote yoga. The government’s directives also prompted the BJP-led government to introduce yoga examination for jail inmates in all prisons of the state.

However, the remission is not applicable to convicts of terror charges and those of narcotics crime (NDPS), as per the prison manual. The next examination will be held in October this year which may allow other convicts an opportunity for remission, Desai said.

Eight prisoners — four each from Nagpur and Aurangabad central jails — have got remission ranging between 30 and 40 days so far.

These include two who have been sentenced to seven years for causing voluntary hurt with a dangerous weapon, four who have been convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, one who has been convicted for rape and one who has been convicted in a graft case, sources said.