Baripada: Habil Sindhu walked out of jail as a free man on Thursday, 18 years after being arrested and sentenced to life for three murders, including that of a minor boy, over suspicion of sorcery.
Habil, now 59, was acquitted of all charges on Wednesday due to lack of sufficient evidence by Mayurbhanj District Sessions Judge Pradip Pattnaik.
“I had given up all hopes of walking out of prison. I was sure that my life will end inside the four walls of the jail. I wasn’t expecting this,” an emotional Habil said after coming out of jail.
Habil, a resident of Balarampur village in Jashipur, was arrested on January 3, 2003, for allegedly brutally killing Jamadar Pingu (26), his son Sukru (2) and his uncle Turam Purti (50).
Jamadar, his son and uncle had visited his father-in-law’s house for a family function but went missing from there. The trio’s mutilated bodies were found in a nearby field during a search operation.
Based on Jamadar’s family members’ complaint, Jashipur police had lodged a case under IPC sections 304 and 34 and arrested Habil for his alleged involvement in the brutal murders.
The then Additional District Judge sentenced Habil to life imprisonment in 2005, but the convict challenged the judgment in Orissa High Court.
A High Court bench ordered a fresh trial and remitted the case back to the court of Sessions Judge, Baripada. According to the High Court, Habil was denied a fair trial and was not provided with effective free legal services by the state defence counsel.
Habil was acquitted by the District Session Judge as it found the evidence against him was insufficient even after examining the statements of 13 witnesses.
“During my stay in the jail, I had advised my family members not to meet me as I could never be a part of their lives anymore. All that has changed now,” Habil said.
