HC releases HIV+ve rape convict

An HIV positive rape convict has been set free after the Allahabad High Court reduced his sentence to the period he had already spent in jail.

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An HIV positive rape convict has been set free after the Allahabad High Court reduced his sentence to the period he had already spent in jail.

Sandeep (name changed) was lodged at Aligarh District Jail since 2006. He was detected with HIV virus in 2011 when an AIDS camp was organised in the jail campus by Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh. Since then,he was being treated by the doctors of the medical college. For the past one year,Sandeep was admitted at the jail hospital.

Senior medical consultant of District Jail,Aligarh,Dr Madan Lal said Sandeeps health was deteriorating by the day and he was incapable of sitting independently and walking. It could not be ascertained when and how Sandeep contracted the disease,Lal added.

Sandeep,now 36,was arrested in August 2006 for allegedly raping a minor girl. In 2008,a local court of Aligarh sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. Sandeep had appealed against this judgment in the Allahabad High Court from the jail.

Sandeeps counsel Saroj Kumar Tiwari said the court,while hearing Sandeeps appeal,sought his illness report that mentioned he was HIV positive. Considering his medical health,the High Court reduced his sentence to the period he had already undergone punishment in the case, said Tiwari.

Superintendent,Aligarh District Jail,SP Yadav said Sandeep was released from jail last Wednesday after completion of all legal formalities. He added that the fine of Rs 10,000 imposed on him was given by a society working for the welfare of the prisoners.

Sandeep,a resident of Aligarh,is married and has two children. He was a truck driver before being arrested.

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