Rape, murder convicts in Maharashtra will not be granted parole

The Devendra Fadnavis government, today, announced that those serving time for rape, murder, dacoity and kidnapping will be no longer granted parole, according to a News18 report.

The Maharashtra Home department had put all parole applications on hold temporarily last week. The department had notified that no parole would be given till revised rules were notified.

The announcement was made after Sajjad Mogul, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping and murdering 25-year-old lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha in 2012, went missing while on parole to meet his unwell mother.

An inquiry was conducted when Mogul went missing while on parole and a top jail official was suspended. Mogul, who went missing earlier this year, has not been traced yet.

After this humiliating encounter, Maharashtra government has taken steps to change parole rules to avoid such an embarrassment in the future. 

According to the new guidelines, convicts will be eligible for "emergency" parole, which will be granted for a maximum of seven days and will not be extended under any circumstances.

Emergency parole will be granted only under the three circumstances - death of father, mother, spouse, son, daughter, brother or sister; serious illness of father, mother, spouse, son or daughter; and marriage of son, daughter, brother or sister.

The surety amount has also been increased from ₹5000 to ₹15,000.

Mogul, booked for rape and murder, was found guilty and was serving time at Nashik Central Jail.

Sajjad worked as a watchman in the building where Pallavi lived. She was attacked by Sajjad and when she resisted, he killed her. Pallavi's fiance Avik Sengupta found her dead in the apartment that they shared.