By IANS
Kolkata : It is celebration time at a correctional home here as two inmates, charged with murder, passed their Class 10 board exams with average marks.
Uttam Guria and Gopal Ghosh, of the Alipur Central Correctional Home, passed their exams with a second division under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
"We always took care that their studies were not hampered in jail. It's good news for all of us that both have passed and it encourages other prisoners too," West Bengal Jail and Social Welfare Minister Biswanath Chowdhury told IANS.
He said the jail authorities would support them if they wanted to pursue higher studies, adding that arrangements could also be made for a tutor if they need help.
Uttam, 24, got life imprisonment on charges of murdering Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Kalipada Haldar in 2001.
He studied only up to Class 5 but resumed his studies in the jail.
Gopal, 20, is facing trial for murdering his neighbour in 2005 – when he was studying in Class 9.
Utthan Pal, another prisoner of the correctional home preparing for graduation, had scored the highest marks in Political Science in the first year examination recently.
Utthan, awarded life imprisonment for murder charges, is an inspiring example for other inmates to continue studies inside jail, officials said.