The Mumbai police this week decided to put a number of prisoners back in jails after they were temporarily released amid the COVID crisis in the last two months. Some of the inmates who were released from jail during this time have allegedly committed serious offences, including murder and attempt to murder in the city while they were out, the police have alleged.

The decision to release them from jail was taken a couple of months ago based on the directives of the Supreme Court that had told the state to form a high-powered committee consisting of three members and chaired by the chairperson of the state legal services authority (senior-most judge in the high court), home secretary and DG (Prisons).