Convicted for murder, 35-yr-old earned ₹3L from his paintings
MUMBAI : Like many people, Sudeep Pal also financially supports his family.
The only difference between him and others is that he is lodged in an open jail in Maharashtra in connection with a kidnapping and murder of a minor in 2009.
The 35-year-old fine arts graduate has earned through sales of his paintings sketched in the prison at Morshi in Amravati district, 660km east of Mumbai.
He has sent Rs3 lakh to his aged parents in West Bengal since 2010.
The jail authorities say Pal is a good example of a reformed convict, and his social and emotional paintings have made a mark in the market.
Pal, born on August 16, 1983, hails from Durgapur in West Bengal. He completed his Class 12 from Durgapur and took admission for a fine arts course in Chandigarh.
Later, he studied still photography and videography in Shimla.
Like many other artists, Pal came to Mumbai to pursue his dream and lived as a paying guest in Chembur. The police later booked him in a kidnapping and murder of a minor there.
As an undertrial he was lodged at Thane.
In 2009, the trial court convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment. On February 14, 2009, he was sent to Nashik central prison for serving a life term. Fortunately, Swathi Sathe was the then superintendent at the central jail.
“I was happy when he approached me for a good cause. Though he was convicted, our aim was to keep the artist in him alive and help him pursue his dream,” Sathe said, who is now deputy inspector general of prisons.
“In Pal’s case, we can proudly say that the purpose of jails to reform and rehabilitate convicts is fulfilled,” said Sathe.
Pal’s first exhibition was organised on December 18, 2010.
A year ago, he was moved to Morshi open jail in Amravati for his good conduct.
“Pal spends most of his time on paintings. During my night rounds, I find him making paintings. He says the night time helps him concentrate,” said Ashok Malwad, superintendent of Morshi open jail.