Customs case may delay Bleach release

KOLKATA: Peter Bleach, British convict in the Purulia armsdrop case, will have to wait a few more days before he can walk out a free man.
Amid high drama within and outside Kolkata’s packed Alipore Central jail premises on Saturday, the West Bengal government indicated that it might take till February 5 for formal withdrawal of the cases pending against Bleach.The Presidential order remitting Bleach’s remaining sentence in the Purulia arms drop case was received by the state government on Friday evening.
The main obstacle in the way of immediate release is a case slapped by the customs authorities before a Mumbai court, state home secretary Amit Kiran Dev said. The customs had slapped an adjudication claim on Bleach for several lakhs of rupees on August 26, 2003, for the An-26 Russian aircraft used for the Purulia armsdrop now stranded at a Mumbai airport since his arrest on December 22, 1995.
For the withdrawal of the case pending in Mumbai, the permission of the Centre must be taken. “We have contacted the Union home secretary on this,� Dev said. There were two other case pending in Kolkata, but it would not take the state government long to withdraw them, Dev said. He had been chargesheeted for assaulting a lifer, Kamal Raut, who looked after the Presidency jail milk-room on November 11, 2003. Bleach was directed to appear before the chief metropoliton magistrate’s court on February 12.
“We will move the court for withdrawal of the case on February 5, after the reopening of the court after the holidays,� Dev said. This apart, Bleach had applied for a political prisoner’s status at Calcutta High Court, which was also pending.
“We will tell the court that we are not interested in pursuing the assault case any longer. On the other hand, Bleach himself has demanded that he be treated as a political prisoner. I am sure that will be withdrawn immediately,� Deb said.
After a day of hectic parleys, IG (Prisons) Joydeb Chakraborty announced that the release was not possible on Saturday. At 10.30 am when the IG (prisons) entered the jail premises, till three hours later when he sought the advocate-general’s opinion on the release, the mood at the jail gate swung from one of expecation of immediate release to disappointment that legalities might stand in the way.
Five British deputy high commission officials were present at the jail since the morning. They insisted to the jail authorities that Bleach must be immediately released and legal niceties should not stand in the way. Prison authorities contacted the Union home secretary as well as his counterpart in the state to know about the status of the cases and how fast these could be disposed of.
In between, the IG had several meetings with British deputy high commisioner Andrew Hall, who explained to him at length “on the modalities to be completed�. One objection of the prison authorities was that the Union home secretary had received a faxed message from Delhi for the release, the written order was still awaited. “It is difficult to act on a faxed message on a case like this,� they argued. Outside the jail, there was a large crowd of curious onlookers as well as a battery of journalists.
A traffic snarl developed on the otherwise not so crowded Judges Court Road.
T I M E L I N E
6 am: Reports of strong possibility of Peter Bleach’s release during the day circulate.
7 am: Mad rush of media to Alipore Central jail
9 am: Legal activist Dipak Prahladka assures Bleach would be released soon. “He would start packing as soon as he gets the release order in hand,� he adds.
10.15 am: UK dy high commissioner Andrew Hall reaches jail.
10.30: Hall is followed by inspector general of jail Jaidev Chakraborty.
11 am: A meeting is attended by the British Deputy High Commissioner, IG (prison) and legal experts.
11 am: UK dy high commission officials put pressure on the jail authorities to free Bleach. State government officials are reluctant to make any violation of the norm.
Noon: Wardens expressed their displeasure over the imminent release, violating the normal procdure. A case is pending against Bleach for his alleged assault on a warden.
1.30 pm: IG (prison) leaves the jail premises to seek legal opinion from the state advocate general.
2 pm: IG still has fingers cross-ed. Says there is a 50:50 chance of Bleach’s release during the day.
2.30 pm: IG prison confirms Bleach won’t be released on Saturday.