104-yr old man released from Bengal jail after spending 36-years in jail
Kolkata/Malda (PTI): A 104-year-old man released from West Bengal's Malda Correctional Home after languishing in jail for 36 years said he will spend time with his family members and do gardening.
Rasikt Mondal was sentenced to life imprisonment by District and Sessions court in Malda in 1992 after being arrested in 1988, on the charge of murdering his brother in a land dispute case.
He had been enlarged on bail for about one year and given parole another time but again went back to the prison once the period was over and the high court turned down his pleas for release on past occasions.
Mondal, a resident of Manikchak in Malda district, told reporters emerging out of the gate of Malda Correctional Home on Tuesday that he will now devote full time to gardening/nurturing plants and spending time with family members.
Asked how old was he, Mondal mumbled 108 years but his son, accompanying him, corrected that he was 104. Correctional home authorities said records showed he was 104.
"I don't remember how many years I had spent in jail. It seemed never-ending. I don't even recall when I was brought here," the elderly man, looking remarkably agile considering his age, said.
However, he added "now I have come out I can do justice to my passion - attending plants in the small garden in my courtyard. I missed my family and grandchildren. Want to be with them."
Mondal's son Prakash Mondal said his father was released following an order of the Supreme Court.
"After serving a considerable period in prison, every prisoner is entitled to release from prison if he has not committed any improper act during incarceration as informed by our lawyer. Happy the SC finally paved the way for his release," the son said.
Mondal had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1992 by the district and sessions court Malda when he was 72 years old.
However, during the hearing at Calcutta High Court, he was released on bail. However, he went back to the correctional home as the high court upheld the life sentence verdict of the lower court.
In 2020 he was granted parole but went back to the correctional home in 2021 and remained lodged in lock up till the SC issued the order last month.
"I am very happy," his wife, octogenarian Meena Mondal said.
The elderly man, who used to do physical exercise during his stay in prison and looked fit considering his advanced age, claimed "I am innocent and a victim of circumstances."
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
