SOCIETY

Orissa murder convict marries his polio-stricken love in jail

     Jamujhari (Orissa): A murder convict in Orissa has married his polio-stricken love in a prison here. Bikram Kumar Nanda, who is serving a life term for killing a man while protecting a young girl's modesty at the age of 19, was separated from his girlfriend Shantilata. Released from jail on parole, he visited Shantilata's village in Ganjam District and proposed to her. She readily accepted. "I went home on parole, I saw her at a fair there. I decided to marry her that time only," said Bikram. Back in jail, the authorities arranged for Bikram's marriage in the prison. "He came to me and said that he wanted to get married here in front of his friends. I agreed to it, as our job also involves rehabilitation. I got permission from the IG (Inspector General), and after that, made arrangement for the marriage," said Golak Bihari Mohanty, the Superintendent of the Jamujhari Prison. Jail authorities are happy with Bikram's personal conduct and say he deserves to be released. "He will be released from the jail soon. I have written to the Government that his conduct is good and he is a well-behaved person. He will turn out to be good citizen," Mohanty added. Shantilata's family, who earlier refused to go through with the marriage, agreed to it after jail officials vouched for Bikram's good behaviour. "He promised to marry my daughter despite knowing that she is a handicapped. Earlier, I had refused to marry off my daughter to him, but when the Superintendent and the IG (Inspector General) talked to us about the marriage, I agreed to it," said Niranjan Padhy, the father of the bride. Bikram has served over fifteen years in prison. He was shifted to an open-air jail in Orissa's Jamujhari District from a high security prison two years ago.
-May 15, 2007    

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