Talat Sultana, who was convicted for the murder of her husband, Forward Bloc MLA Ramzan Ali, in 1994, walked free on Sunday following the remission of her life sentence.
Talat was 34 when she was held guilty of murdering Ali, in connivance with friend Nurul Islam, at the MLAs’ hostel on Kyd Street.
The mother of two, now 61, has spent 27 years behind bars.
Ali, the Forward Bloc MLA from Goalpokhar in North Dinajpur district of north Bengal, was strangled on his bed in the hostel on December 20, 1994.
Talat’s statements had led the police to make a wrong arrest. But it later emerged that the murder was plotted and executed by her and her friend Nurul Islam, a former associate of Ali.
According to the prosecution, Ali had severed ties with Islam after he came to know that his aide was having an affair with Talat.
Talat and Islam both were handed life inprisonment. Talat was lodged in several jails, including Presidency Correctional Home, Purulia Women’s Correctional Home and Balurghat District Correctional Home.
Nurul is now lodged in Balurghat jail.
Talat, who learned nursing and tailoring in jail, taught children below the age of six who stay in jail with their mothers, who are undertrials or convicts.
Sources said Talat’s name was considered for “remission of sentence” because of her “good conduct”, as she had already completed 14 years in jail.
According to the jail code, any prisoner who has completed 14 years in confinement may be considered for “premature release”.
The decision on remission is made by the Sentencing Review Board, which is headed by the state home secretary and also has as members the director-general of police, Kolkata police commissioner, principal secretaries of the judicial and correctional services department and the inspector general or additional director general of the correctional services.
Sources in the state home department said that while considering such cases, a detailed background check of the convicts is carried out.
Among the details examined by the board is the convict’s age, conduct inside jail and whether the police have any objection to his or her release. The board also seeks a report from the court where the person was tried and the consent of the high court.
“Talat Sultana was released in compliance with the established rules and orders of the government and that of the court,” said the additional director general of police (correctional services), Peeyush Pandey.