With a thick beard, gray hair on his head and trembling legs due to old age, 72-year-old Saibanna N. Natikar recently came out of the main gate of Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru. After living in a dark cell for almost four decades, Saibanna finally breathed open air. According to jail officials, Saibanna is the first prisoner in India to serve the longest sentence, 37 consecutive years.
Talking on this matter, Jail Department DGP Alok Kumar said that I have met Saibanna before also, when I was in Belagavi and Kalaburagi jails. His behavior inside the jail was very good.
Crime of murder of second wife and daughter
Saibanna has a terrible criminal history. In 1988, he brutally murdered his first wife Malakavva because he suspected her of being unfaithful. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for this crime, but was released from prison on parole in 1994. However, after being released from jail, he married a woman named Nagamma and had a daughter. But within a few weeks, he became suspicious of his second wife and brutally murdered both his wife and his infant daughter Vijayalakshmi.
commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment
Saibanna, who worked in the cooperative sector, not only lost his job due to these gruesome murders, but also lost 10 acres of land worth more than Rs 1 crore. In 2003, the trial court sentenced him to death considering the brutality of the double murder. However, later the Karnataka High Court changed this sentence to life imprisonment. The High Court considered keeping Saibanna in solitary confinement for almost ten years as illegal and inhumane. Moreover, the delay in the decision on his mercy petition proved to be a boon for him, paving the way for his release after 37 years.
no regrets on face
Despite committing murder, there was no remorse on his face. Speaking to the media after his release from jail, Saibanna expressed no remorse for the murders. Repeating the same old complaints in front of the media, he said that I killed my wives because they had strayed from the path. At the time of the first murder, the man who was with her had run away, so I killed my wife. In the matter of second marriage, it was my mother-in-law who had led her daughter on the wrong path. It would not have mattered if my wife was blind or lame, but what mattered was her purity.
Input-Kannada Desk
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