A 23-year-old undertrial, released on temporary bail from Yerwada due to the coronavirus outbreak, was found murdered on a footpath near Pune railway station. Unknown persons attacked him with a hard object on the head, causing his death, and documents regarding his temporary bail were also found in his pocket, police said. The man, an undertrial in a theft case, was identified as Munna Ishwar Chavan, a native of Gevrai in Beed district. According to police, Chavan was arrested in a theft case registered at Pune railway police station in 2018. He was booked under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code in this case. According to court orders, he was remanded in judicial custody and lodged in Yerwada jail. Police said a few days ago, he was released on temporary bail from Yerwada jail due to COVID-19 outbreak, and was residing on a footpath in the city since then. He was found lying on a footpath near Pune railway station around 7.30 am on Sunday, police added. An offence of murder was lodged against unknown persons at Bundgarden police station. No arrests have been made yet, but police said a probe is on and they are trying to get clues from CCTV camera footage around the crime scene. On March 26, the state government had announced that nearly 11,000 inmates - undertrials as well as convicts incarcerated for lesser and non-heinous offences that attract less than seven years of maximum sentence - will be released either on provisional bail or parole. After the process started on March 28, nearly 4,070 undertrial prisoners from 37 jails across the state were released till Sunday night. The process of release of convicts on parole is yet to begin, awaiting orders from the state government. On April 9, the state prison department announced that it was “locking down” five overcrowded prisons in Mumbai, Pune and Thane district - Arthur Road and Byculla Jails in Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan in Thane district, and Yerawada Central Prison in Pune - in the backdrop of rapidly increasing coronavirus cases in Mumbai and Pune. Under the lockdown, no new inmates are being lodged in these prisons and medically examined prison staff will remain inside till further orders. The prison department has further ordered locking down of more prisons in the state since then. Don't miss these articles on Coronavirus from the Explained section: ‣ How coronavirus attacks, step by step ‣ Mask or no mask? Why the guidance has been shifting ‣ Besides a face cover, should I wear gloves when I go outdoors? ‣ How the Agra, Bhilwara and Pathanamthitta Covid-19 containment models differ ‣ Can coronavirus damage your brain?
