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This is an archive article published on May 24, 2008

Bleach now preserves heritage

Peter Bleach, who spent eight years in a jail in Kolkata for his alleged involvement in the Purulia arms drop case...

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Peter Bleach, who spent eight years in a jail in Kolkata for his alleged involvement in the Purulia arms drop case, has acquired a new life as a site supervisor for English Heritage at the Helmsley Castle in Yorkshire.

On December 17, 1995, a Latvian aircraft dropped a large consignment of arms including several hundred AK-47 rifles and more than a million rounds of ammunition over a large area in Jhalda, Ghatanga, Belamu and Maramu villages of Purulia district.

Several days later, when the plane re-entered Indian airspace, it was intercepted by the Indian Air Force and forced to land in Mumbai. The crew of the aircraft consisted of five Latvian citizens and Bleach.

They were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Latvian crew was later pardoned and released in 2000. Bleach was released in February 2004, after a presidential pardon.

Now Bleach can be found working in the sylvan surroundings of Helmsley Castle, which dates back nearly 800 years. 8220;One of the great things about spending time in a foreign jail is you appreciate home a lot more and this is as far as you can get from a jail cell in Calcutta,8221;, he said.

 

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