'I want to stay in jail, or my family will kill me'

After court orders release of co-accused-turned-approver, weeping 31-year-old Rajesh Chaudhari says he wants to stay in prison as he feels safe there, and because there is no life left for him anymore

"I don't want to be free; I want to stay in prison and work. My family has stopped talking to me. Once I am out, they will kill me. No one will give me a job either, as police verification will be required everywhere, and no father will want to marry his daughter to me," 31-year-old Rajesh Chaudhari, who was let off in the 2009 gang rape and murder of Pune techie Nayana Pujari after he turned approver, said on Tuesday.

Special judge LL Yenkar, while pronouncing her judgment, said, "Chaudhari released forthwith as he has complied with all the conditions of tender of pardon." (sic) He spent seven-and-a-half years behind bars.

Also read - Pune techie gangrape-murder: Three convicts to be hanged to death

Judge Yenkar sentenced the main accused, Yogesh Raut, and his two accomplices Vishwas Kadam and Mahesh Thakkar to death. All were convicted of kidnapping, gang rape, robbery, criminal conspiracy and murder under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

After the judge's verdict, Raut's wife, who was present in court with her daughter and his brother, broke down.

'Safe in jail'
An SSC passout and working in the same company as the victim as a security guard, the day of the incident was Chaudhari's first day at work.

Weeping after the pronouncement of the judgment, he said, "I am sorry for what I did. After the incident, I was constantly in fear and couldn't sleep. The victim's eyes would keep coming back to haunt me. After I was arrested, my mother and sister stopped talking to me."

"I know I committed a brutal crime, because I fell into bad company. Yogesh and I are from the same village; so, I was in touch with him. The day of the incident, it was Yogesh and Mahesh who forced me to come, I was unwilling. I was told it was some random woman, but when I saw the victim's ID card, I was shocked to see that she worked in the same office. I got scared and rushed home," he added.

Also read - Pune: Three convicted in 2009 techie rape-n-murder case

"Yogesh and his family as well as the other accused have threatened me a number of times in the past, after finding out that I was turning approver. I was safe in prison."

Back to village
Chaudhari said he is contemplating returning to his village, now that he has been released, as he doesn't want to stay in the city anymore. "If not prison, I will go to my village and start farming to earn a livelihood. I will try my best wipe off this stain that has come on my image."

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