Agartala: As many as ten convicts and undertrials are appearing in this year’s Higher Secondary and Madhyamik examinations under Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) from Agartala Central Jail.
Only female candidate from jail, 21-year-old Bandana Patra, is sitting for her Higher Secondary examination. She has a dream at least to be a teacher, if not a professor. But sudden brutal instigation in her mind had swept away all the hopes.
Bandana had been sent to jail for murdering her sister-in-law following domestic dispute in 2009. She was a resident of Amtali of Agartala but now her address had been shifted to Ward 12 (woman) in Central jail.
She hit her sister-in-law on head with a stick only a couple of days ahead of her Madhyamik examination following family dispute over dowry.
“The couple got involved in usual quarrel and she attacked my brother in front of us and I lost all control over the situation and hit her with a heavy stick and she died on the spot, ” Bandana recalled.
After a brief trial the entire family was now in the jail.
” Since she is a good student and wants to continue with her studies, we have provided her all support and in 2011 Bandana cleared Madhyamik successfully with good score, ” said Manindra Reang, Jail Minister of the outgoing Left Front government.
This time she was appearing in HS examination from Humanities stream, Mr Reang, also a teacher, said and added the jail teachers and her senior inmates had supported her a lot only because she was a good student despite committing a heinous crime.
Bandana showed the grit to appear in the Higher Secondary examination though she had been serving life term. She had already sat for her English and Bengali papers.
Not only Bandana, two more – Pradip Sharma and Jiban Chandra Das – life term convicted prisoners of the Central Jail, this time were appearing in HS examination.
They had been serving life term for their involvement in murder cases too.
Besides, Arjun Debnath, Sumesh Das, Sukukar Debbarma, Md Ali Mahamad Hossain, Manoranjan Das, Gourmani Roy, Subrata Das and Md Rahid Miah were appearing in Madhyamik examination.
At the same time, Manab Sarkar would appear in BA examination this year.
As many as 17 prisoners had cleared Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations since 2004. (UNI)