Kaushambi: A 104-year-old man who spent 43 years in jail on charges of murder and attempted murder was released from the Kaushambi district jail after being acquitted by a high court, officials said on Friday, May 23.

Lakhan, a resident of Gauraye village in Kaushambi district, was born on January 4, 1921, according to his jail records. He was arrested in 1977 for his involvement in the death of Prabhu Saroj, who was killed during a clash between two groups on August 16, 1977. In 1982, Lakhan and three others were sentenced to life imprisonment by the District and Sessions Court in Prayagraj.

Subsequently, he appealed to the Allahabad High Court, which acquitted him after 43 years on May 2, 2025.

Of the four convicts who appealed against the trial court verdict in the high court, three died during the case’s pendency.

“Following the court order and with the cooperation of the District Jail Superintendent, Lakhan was released from Kaushambi District Jail on Tuesday,” the additional district judge Poornima Pranjal, secretary of the Kaushambi DLSA, said.

He was then safely escorted to his daughter’s home in the Sharira police station area of the district, where he is currently residing.