A Purulia fasttrack court has held a retired police officer responsible for the death of a prisoner 25 years ago and sentenced him to eight years of imprisonment.

The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on Ashok Roy, who was the officer-in-charge of Barabazar police station in 1998, when the incident took place.

The court on Friday convicted Roy of arresting Budhan Shabar on false charges, torturing him in custody and abetting the prisoner’s suicide. Ajay Sen, who was the assistant sub-inspector at Barabazar during Shabar’s death, was acquitted for lack of evidence.

The sentence was pronounced on Monday.

Roy told reporters that he would move a higher court against the verdict. “I am not guilty and the charges against me are false. I will move a higher court,” he said.

On February 10, 1998, Shabar, 25, a resident of Akarbaid village under the jurisdiction of the then Kenda police station, was arrested on charges of theft. The Barabazar police kept him in their lockup till the morning of February 12 and allegedly beat him up.

Purulia district court on February 12 of the same year remanded Shabar in police custody for five days. On February 16, the same court sent him to judicial custody.

A day later on February 17, Shabar was found hanging at the Purulia District Correctional Home. Jail authorities said Shabar had committed suicide, but the family members accused the police of killing him.

Demanding a CBI probe into Shabar’s death, author Mahasweta Devi filed a case in Calcutta High Court on behalf of the West Bengal Shabar Kheria Welfare Society. The court ordered a CBI investigation — the first such probe by the central agency in the Purulia district.

On February 19, 2001, the CBI submitted a chargesheet against Roy and Sen. A total of 89 people, including doctors and health workers of Barabazar Block Primary Health Center, several officials of the Purulia District Correctional Home and police officers, testified in the case.

Although the case went on for 25 long years, the family members of Shabar are happy with the CBI investigation and the trial.

Shabar’s wife Shyamali, 46, said her husband was innocent and had been murdered by the law enforcers. “My husband was not guilty but police unlawfully arrested him and killed him. I waited for 25 long years for justice and today I am happy,” an inconsolable Shyamali said on Monday.