Ramaswami: Even as the Maharashtra state government has slowly begun releasing incarcerated persons on parole and interim bail as a safeguard against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, fear and desperation has gripped those languishing in the jail. A 40-year-old man, who was one of the first 23 people to be released from the Taloja Central Jail in Raigad district on March 27, told The Wire that jails in Mumbai are proving to be a complete “hell-hole”, more so in such an extraordinary time. The man, who lives in the outskirts of Mumbai, was arrested less than two months ago for a crime that attracts less than seven years prison. He became a “fit case” to be released under the Supreme Court’s recommendation to release prisoners to reduce the overcrowding of Indian jails in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.