Odisha: 19 years on, man found ‘wrongly convicted’ of three murders

BALASORE: A man from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district who spent almost 19 years in prison for a triple murder conviction was released on Wednesday after a judge ruled that he had been wrongfully convicted in 2005, reports Kishan Sahu.
Habil Sindu of Balrampur village was accused of committing three murders on January 3, 2003. Those killed, allegedly on suspicion of practising black magic, were a couple and their child in Sindu’s neighbourhood. Sindu was arrested soon after the murders following a complaint.
In 2005, the then additional-district-cum-sessions judge (Baripada) sentenced Habil to life imprisonment. However, Sindu challenged the judgment in the HC.
Considering the sensitivity of the case, the HC appointed an amicus curiae to probe the case. The district and sessions court acquitted Habil on Wednesday owing to lack of evidence after studying the entire case, hearing 11 witnesses and going through a 32-page investigation report.
“I am very happy as the court has cleared me of all charges and has set me free. Though I have a family, they disowned me. I will return to the village and take up farming,” said Sindu.
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