Shillong, April 11: A book describing the fate of an innocent man who spent 14 years behind bars for a crime committed by someone else has prompted the Meghalaya government to look into judicial and police reforms in the state.
Titled "When the Jacaranda Blooms", the book written by a Shillong-based journalist narrates the views of Rawgii Kaipang, sister of a final year degree student Doyalian who was murdered in 1992.
A college student of St Anthony's College here - Doyalian Kaipang from Tripura - was allegedly stabbed to death by his tribesman Deepcharan Kaipang. The murderer was arrested and lodged in Shillong jail.
Eight years later, when the accused was brought to the court, the undertrial told that he was not Deepcharan, but Rusith Sangma, who was held for smuggling and was later freed.
Subsequent accounts of court proceedings, news reports, CBI inquiry have been contained in the book by E M Jose which made Rawgii to lose faith in the police and legal system.
As an immediate effect of the book, Meghalaya Government asked officials concerned to review the pending cases of under trial prisoners in the state.
"District authorities have been asked to furnish reports of the number of pending cases and position of the trial of the prisoners in two weeks," state Planning Commission Chief P A Sangma said, after releasing the book last evening.
Acknowledging that the move as an effect of the book, Sangma said, "Government will review the position of pending cases and will ensure that the innocent under-trial persons get justice at the earliest."
More than 600 prisoners are lodged in the jails across the state, and nearly 70 per cent of them are under trial with cases pending for years.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, April 11, 2008, 12:44
