After 23 years in prison, Naitu Munda Raju walks free — with no one waiting at the gate

After 23 years behind bars, tea worker Naitu Munda Raju (50) from Chunarughat, Habiganj, walked out of Sylhet Central Jail-2 on Sunday (November 8). He had been sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case and had been serving his sentence since 2003. But even at this moment of freedom, no relative was waiting for him at the prison gate — there was no confirmed home to return to, nor any assurance of work.

His sentence was recently remitted under a general amnesty. But even after the release order arrived, a financial obstacle kept him locked in — a fine of 50,000 taka remained unpaid.

Although the chance of freedom had come after a long imprisonment, Raju could not walk through that door for want of money. His family, too, could not arrange the fine. So even the wait to return to a free life after 23 years in prison grew longer.

In the end, a humane initiative removed that barrier. Probation officer Taimur Hossain Chowdhury of the Department of Social Services raised the matter at the district law-and-order coordination meeting. Sylhet Metropolitan BNP president Nasim Hossain, who was present at the meeting, took responsibility for paying the 50,000 taka for Raju's release. He later arranged the money. The fine was paid on Saturday night, and Raju was released the next day.

Prashant Kumar Banik, senior jail superintendent of Sylhet Central Jail, said that under provision 569 of the Jail Code, a prisoner who has served 20 years can get a general release on humanitarian grounds. After Raju Munda applied under this provision, his release order came. But his release was held up because the fine was outstanding. Once the money was paid, he was released.

Probation officer Taimur Hossain Chowdhury said he had contacted many places about Raju's release, but the money could not be arranged. Finally, when he raised the matter at the district law-and-order coordination meeting, Nasim Hossain came forward. Even after paying the money, he did not want to appear at the prison gate; instead, he requested that Raju be released quickly.

Twenty-three years of 50-year-old Raju's life passed within the four walls of prison. The years when a person builds a family, a home and a permanent address were spent in captivity. Now, having been freed, he must find answers to where he will go and how the rest of his life will pass.

Raju used to work as a labourer in a tea garden in Chunarughat. In his long imprisonment, much around him has changed. Many of those he once worked with and spent his days with are no longer in his life. With the passage of so much time, even memories have faded. He said he has largely forgotten the incident in the murder case for which he was sentenced.

Speaking of his feelings after leaving prison, Raju said, 'I paid for my mistake by serving jail time; the sin is washed away. Now I want to spend the coming days well.'

Asked whether he would work as a tea worker again, his voice carried a tone of loneliness. He said, 'There are no companions left. I will try to do the work I did in jail — cooking.'

An experience gained in prison may now become the support for his new life. In prison, Raju learned to cook. He wants to start earning a living again with that experience. Probation officer Taimur Hossain Chowdhury said that if Raju is interested in cooking work, he will try to arrange employment for him at a hotel or restaurant.

Although the formalities of Raju's release were completed with 50,000 taka of help, the uncertainty in his life has not ended. Outside prison he has found freedom, but not a confirmed address to return to, nor the assurance of a livelihood. A person's release after a long imprisonment cannot be limited to merely opening the prison gate — an environment to live in society, respectable work and minimum security are also needed. Raju has come out of prison after 23 years; now he needs not only open air, but something to carry him through the rest of his life.