After 36 Years, Bengal Centenarian Walks Out Of Jail On Parole

Rashik Chandra Mondol's release on parole was ordered by a Supreme Court Division Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar in November.

Representational Image | A 104-year-old man was released on parole after 36 years in prison for the murder of his brother.

Source : Social Media

A 104-year-old man was released on parole Monday from Malda Correctional Home in West Bengal after spending 36 years in prison. Rashik Chandra Mondol, a resident of Paschim Narayanpur village in Manikchowk block in Malda district was accused of murdering his brother over a property dispute.

Arrested in 1998, Mondal was sentenced to life imprisonment by the District and Sessions Court in Malda in 1992. By the time he came out, he’d spent more than a third year of life in Prison. “I’m missing jail, but now I’m happy,” he tells The Indian Express. “I had roti-tarkari last night and slept well. Today, I had muri (rice crisps) for breakfast and macher jhol (fish curry and rice) for lunch," Indian Express quoted Mondol as saying. 

Rashik’s release on parole was ordered by a Supreme Court Division Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar in November. The order came 24 years after he was convicted by a lower court in 1998. By the time the final verdict came, he had already spent 10 years in prison.

Rashik is fuzzy on the details of the killing as well as the property dispute. His son Uttam Mandal, who accompanied his father back home Tuesday, claims Rashik’s memory “falters sometimes”.

Rashik Among 18 People Named In FIR

According to the report by Indian Express, the family confirmed that Rashik, born in 1920, owned a small plot of land and is survived by his wife Meena (85) and three sons, one of whom, the eldest, passed away a few years ago.

In the murder case, Rashik was among 18 individuals named in the FIR. A court in Malda sentenced him and another person to life imprisonment in 1998 when Rashik was 68 years old.

Rashik appealed his sentence to the Calcutta High Court in 2018, but it was upheld. He then approached the Supreme Court, which also rejected his plea. In 2020, at the age of 99, Rashik again appealed to the Supreme Court for release on grounds of age and health. The court asked the West Bengal government to provide a health report in 2021, which described Rashik as “mentally fine and agile.” Despite this, the Supreme Court eventually ordered his release.

For Rashik’s family, the parole order marked the end of a long legal battle that involved years of appeals and significant expenses in legal fees. By the time of his release, his co-convict in the case, Jiten Tanti, had passed away while on parole. “My father is 103 years now and in three months, he’ll be 104,” says Uttam, who is a daily-wage labourer. “He can barely walk. Whatever their crime, people who are so old shouldn’t be kept behind bars. “

The family including Rashik’s wife Meena (85), plans to celebrate Rashik’s upcoming 104th birthday, but for now, they are busy hosting numerous villagers eager to meet him. Meanwhile, Rashik looks forward to resuming work in his garden once the visits subside.