Changes being made in parole policy

According to prison authorities, policy changes are being made for granting parole and furlough to prison inmates. This comes after Sajjad Mughal, the convict in the Pallavi Purkayastha murder case, jumped parole and has since gone missing. According to officials, these changes that give powers to the DIG to grant or reject parole have been pending for the past two years and have also been mentioned in the inquiry report conducted in the Purkayastha case.

Mughal, convicted for murdering Mumbai lawyer Ms Purkayastha, fled after he was sent on parole. An inquiry has been conducted into jail authority J.S. Naik who was then superintendent of Nashik jail when Mughal was granted parole. The report has been submitted to the principal secretary home department.

Principal secretary (home), Vijay Satbir Singh, said, “The inquiry was headed by deputy inspector general jail Rajendra Dhamne in the said matter. No action has been taken against any jail authority as of now and we are still investigating the matter and going through the inquiry report. The report recommends changes in the policy of considering and implementing parole.”

Prison authorities said, “We have already requested the state to make changes in the parole policy. Instead of giving authority to the jail superintendent, it should be given to the DIG as he knows much about prisoners and it would bring in more transparency.”