Prisoner until proven innocent: A five-decade ordeal

Lakhan Pasi,104, jailed in 1977, was acquitted by the Allahabad high court on May 20 as the prosecution could not prove the charges against him.

Lakhan Pasi was sleeping inside his thatched hut in Gourey village when his wife Pyari Devi woke him up. It was around 4pm on August 5, 1977. Pyari told him that 15-16 people in the neighbourhood were fighting near the village well with sticks and lathis. “When I went, I saw Deshraj had attacked Prabhu, who was bleeding. They had an old enmity. Police came and took Prabhu to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” said Lakhan.

Lakhan Pasi at his home (Anil Kumar Maurya/HT)

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