Murder convict who jumped parole, became govt teacher, sent back to jail after 40 years | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: More than four decades after he jumped parole, a murder convict who went on to become a govt teacher and even win a best teacher award has been ordered back to prison by the Telangana High Court.Sandela Veeranna, now in his late 70s, was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life in 1983 after being convicted of a murder committed in the late 1970s. But barely six months into his term, Veeranna was released on parole and never returned to prison.He was finally tracked down in May 2024 by a special task force of the Telangana prisons dept, with the help of Mahabubabad police, and lodged in Cherlapally central prison.While Veeranna’s wife, Sandela Charamma, recently challenged his continued incarceration and the denial of parole for the past three years — on medical and compassionate grounds — the high court dismissed her petition.Expressing strong disapproval of Veeranna’s conduct, Justice T Madhavi Devi said how, “concealing his criminal background and subsequent conviction, and entering govt service alone speaks volumes,” holding that “his govt employment and uninterrupted service indicate that he obtained the job by deception”.Astoundingly, during his four decades outside prison, Veeranna not only lived a comfortable life in Danthalappaly in Mahabubabad district but also secured a govt teaching job where he received the best teacher award in 2004. He retired from service in 2013.In her petition Charamma, also a retired govt employee, told the court that continuing Veeranna’s remaining prison term after such a long delay was arbitrary. She argued that he had not been given a proper opportunity to explain the alleged violation of parole.The petitioner stated that her son was a permanent resident of the UK and there was nobody to look after them. “Moreover, he is suffering from serious medical ailments requiring immediate and specialised medical treatment, and his health is deteriorating day by day,” she stated, urging the court to direct the authorities to consider his release on medical grounds.Opposing the petition, govt pleader for Home Mahesh Raje said Veeranna had deliberately failed to surrender after his parole and that several communications had been sent to trace and apprehend him.Raje submitted that medical facilities were available at Cherlapally and that specialised treatment was also being provided to inmates.While the court rejected the plea, it also pulled up the prison authorities over their failure to trace Veeranna for more than four decades. Justice Madhavi Devi observed that the lapse reflected poorly on the prison administration. It directed the authorities to frame guidelines and establish a system to track prisoners released on parole and ordered the constitution of special task forces to maintain strict vigilance over prisoners on parole.The court also rejected the allegation that Veeranna had not been given an opportunity to explain the parole violation. It noted that prison authorities had issued him a show-cause notice and heard him before rejecting his plea for parole.