Kanu Mia (50) was imprisoned in Habiganj jail for 30 years without any formal conviction. He had been in prison for killing his mother in a mentally unstable condition. Although the court had suspended the proceedings of the case two decades ago, Kanu Mia was never released.
Recently, during a routine inspection of the prison, the matter came to the attention of the district legal aid officer. With their assistance and under court orders, Kanu Mia was released from Habiganj District Jail on Tuesday afternoon.
Kanu Mia is a resident of Singha village in Lakhai upazila of the district. His two elder brothers came to the jail this afternoon to take him home.
On May 25, 1995, he struck his mother with a spade inside their house, resulting in her death on the spot. The villagers caught him and handed him over to the police. Following this, Kanu Mia’s brother filed a case against him.
During the trial, Kanu Mia’s mental condition worsened. This is why, in 2003, the court ordered that the proceedings of the case be suspended until he recovered. Since then, he remained in jail.
Initially, his brothers and other relatives used to visit him, but later they stopped. They assumed Kanu Mia might have passed away.
On Monday, the Legal Aid lawyer applied for bail in the District and Sessions Judge Court. District and Sessions Judge Jesmin Ara Begum granted bail to the accused.
On Tuesday at 12 noon, Kanu Mia was released from the district prison. He was seen walking out of the prison gate wearing a new pink panjabi (traditional tunic), a white cap, and a pair of pants.
After hearing of his release, his elder brothers Munu Mia (the original complainant in the case) and Nasu Mia came to the prison gate. Upon seeing their brother, they hugged him.
Moroli Dhar, a member of the District Bar Association and a human rights activist, said, “This is an extremely inhumane incident. A man had to stay in prison for 30 years without trial. Yet no one noticed. It was only when the Legal Aid Officer took note that this helpless man was finally freed. But can anyone give him back the 30 years he lost?”
Md. Monir Chowdhury, the jail superintendent of Habiganj prison, said that Kanu Mia was released today on court order after 30 years, 2 months, and 16 days. He had tried to bring the matter to the court’s attention several times before, but it hadn’t progressed.