Shimla:
Four convicts in Aman Kachru ragging-to-death case were released from jail today, seven months before the completion of their terms. The four medical students - Abhinav Verma, Mukul Sharma, Navin Verma and Ajay Verma - were jailed for four years for beating Aman Kachru to death in March 2009.
On august 15, the government had announced remission on the ground of good conduct during their term. They were supposed to complete their sentence in March 2013. They were held guilty on November 11, 2010.
Reacting to the decision, a shattered Raj Kachru, father of Aman, expressed told PTI, "It is a shame to remit their sentences when an appeal filed by the government to enhance the sentence is pending in court. I am sorry for the ignorance of the Himachal government which did not see ragging as a serious issue in our country."
"When the entire nation is trying to crack down on the practice of ragging, the state government has chosen to go against the will of the entire nation. These students got mild sentences and what was the hurry to release them by giving remission in sentence," he questioned.
Justifying their release, Director General of Police ID Bhandari said, "The four convicts were released on August 15 as per the provisions of the jail manual".
"It is a normal process and no special concession was given to the four convicts while waiving off their sentences. They were released for good conduct in the jail and did not avail any parole," he said.
A disappointed Mr Kachru said, "I want to appeal to the entire nation to condemn the decision of the Himachal government."
A senior government counsel said that state moved the high court against the lower court's verdict on two counts. First, Aman was brutally beaten under the garb of ragging by his seniors and sought higher punishment under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code on charges of murder, not under Sections 304 II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
The state also felt that the trial court had shown leniency while pronouncing the quantum of punishment. Almost one-and-a-half years have passed since four medicos of government medical College, Tanda (Kangra), all seniors of Aman, were convicted, but so far none of the appeals of the government or the convicts against the judgement have been heard. At least six judges of the High Court had recused themselves from hearing the case.
(With inputs from PTI)