Pakistani scientist Dr Khalil Chishti, who spent last 18 years in an Indian prison on murder allegations, finally walked out of jail on Wednesday, Indian media reported.
The Ajmer Sessions Court asked Dr Chishti to furnish two bail bonds of Rs 50,000 each and a personal surety of Rs 100,000 which his lawyer earlier paid. The decision comes as a big relief to the 80-year-old doctor, as the court has put forth no other condition for him to travel to his home country, Pakistan.
When granting him bail, Indian Supreme Court had also agreed to hear his plea to return to Karachi but had asked his lawyers to file a separate petition for this, now seen as a mere formality. Dr Chishti is unable to walk unaided. He has to be carried to and from jail by two people. Human rights activists have been pleading for assistance for him for years. After his release, Dr Chishti said he could not express his happiness in words. In a brief interaction with Indian media, Chishti said that he wanted to see his family without any delay, and wished to go Pakistan as soon as possible.
Dr Chishti was accused of killing a man during a brawl in Ajmer in April 1992. He was visiting the Rajasthan city then to pay obeisance at the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Since then, he has been held in India. In January last year, the Karachi virologist was awarded life imprisonment after an 18-year-long trial. Until then, he had remained largely under house arrest in Rajasthan, his lawyers say. After he was given the life sentence, he was placed in the Ajmer Jail. Some others convicted in the same case had been granted bail. Dr Chishti’s Pakistani citizenship meant he was not allowed to leave prison.
