* Juvenile *
Three years was all the punishment the law could mete out to him. And now, two years and three hundred and sixty four days into his prison term, the convict guilty of rape and murder of a young woman was to walk free, in a little less than a day.
He woke up fresh from the previous night's sleep. The prison officer had spoken to him the previous night regarding the details of his release. He had been made to sign a few papers the previous evening.
Things were looking up for the young convict. Three years in juvenile prison had taught him the craft of embroidery. He wondered if all countries had similar prisons, where convicts were given training and a chance to rehabilitate. He thanked God for his good fortune.
The guard knocked on his door. It was time to leave the room and appear for breakfast.
His usual breakfast table awaited him. A young ruffian who had been his prison mate for the last two months greeted him with a smile. A thin porridge and two slices of bread had been served to each of the inmates, most of them teenagers aged sixteen and below. He sat down and started to eat excitedly. The anticipation of his impending release playing in his mind.
"Brother, you seem to be in a big hurry today," the ruffian remarked.
"Oh yes I am. It's the day of my release today. I will be able to get out of this prison and live a free life," he answered happily.
"I know it already brother. You have every reason to be happy, but tell me something brother, were you really guilty of the crime? Or did the courts get it wrong?" the ruffian asked him casually, his attention focused on the tasteless porridge.
The convict's face fell. This question had been least expected. He wondered if he should reply with the truth that he always knew, or with the lie that he had wanted everyone to believe.
"Oh come on brother, don't tell me you were framed. You admitted everything in court didn't you? Or did the Police torture you to admit the guilt," asked the ruffian, still busy eating his slimy breakfast.
"Well, you have asked me what I really want to forget, but I guess we have become decent friends here. So let me tell you this, that the courts were right in my case," replied the convict as he broke a piece of dry bread.
"Ohh, really? Tell me more about it," the ruffian's eyes widened and his curiosity rose.
The convict felt a certain sense of importance that he had never felt before. The ruffian seemed to be a real fan. He smiled.
"Well you must have read all about it in the papers of course, and seen the news on TV. There is nothing more to add," the convict said.
The ruffian studied the convict's face. He appeared to be holding back the details.
"Come on, buddy. At least tell me how the girl looked. Was she pretty?" the ruffian asked him.
"Oh yes she was. She was a pretty girl, and she instantly caught our eye as we drove through the streets of Delhi that evening, me and my buddies. So when we saw her and her friend waving for auto-rickshaws to stop, we decided to give them a lift," the convict replied.
"Ohh brother, tell me more," the ruffian said.
"Well, we beat the guy up and threw him out of the bus. Then we took turns with the girl. It felt good of course, it felt really good.
She smelled of fresh roses, and it's weird but, her cries only turned me on even more. You know, I had seen this blue film a few nights ago, so I thought the rod inside her body won't exactly be a bad idea. Now that I think of it, had I not used the rod she would have survived, and I would have been held guilty of just a rape and about one year in prison," the convict lamented.
"Too bad brother. But three years is not too much I think, is it?" the ruffian replied as he bit into his piece of bread.
The convict looked sad. He looked up at the ceiling and said, "I lost three precious years of my youth brother. That's too much of punishment".
The ruffian had finished his porridge. He looked the convict in the eye.
"But surely brother, you would agree that the others getting fourteen years and you getting only three years is not exactly fair. And this difference only because you happened to rape and kill a woman at seventeen years of age. Don't you think your crime commanded a bigger punishment?" the ruffian asked.
"Well, you may be right but then, the law is what we all follow here. I got the punishment that the law deemed fit. I think it's now pointless to worry about my crime, even if the punishment was insufficient" the convict replied with a tone of indignation.
"Oh brother, I didn't mean to offend you here," the ruffian sounded apologetic.
"That's fine brother. You tell me, how long are you going to stay in this prison?" the convict asked him.
"About a year I think," the ruffian replied.
"A year? I thought you were here for pickpocketing!"
"I am, but that's not why they will keep me here for a year brother," the ruffian replied as he adjusted his pyjama.
"What do you mean?" the convict asked him, confused.
"I will be kept here for murder. But only for a year, since I am fifteen, and I agree, your punishment was grossly insufficient," the ruffian replied as he withdrew a knife from his pyjamas and slit the convict's throat.
The blood gushing out of the convict's wound collected to form a small puddle near the ruffian's feet.
