He was released from Mirzapur jail on December 29 on a mercy petition and is now at his home in Newaria village of Mirzapur.

Superintendent of Mirzapur district jail S P Yadav said Bodi was convicted in a murder case reported in February 1959 and was in jail since August 31 that year. “After the government approved his mercy petition, we informed his nephew Sheo Kumar to take him home,” said Yadav.

Four persons were accused in the murder case, of whom three had already been released, said Yadav, adding that Bodi was nearly 20 years old, when he was convicted.

Sources in the Mirzapur police said Bodi had spent five-decade jail term in jails of Mirzapur, Gurama and Varanasi. He also spent sometime at the mental hospital of Varanasi.

“He was shifted to the Varanasi jail in June 2006 from the Mansik Chikitasalaya, Varanasi. In September 2006, he was shifted to the Mirzapur jail,” said the source.

After returning to his village Newaria, the mentally unfit Bodi could not recognise his house and his household friends at once. “I am extremely happy,” he only said.

A villager said: “Bodi was unmarried when he was arrested. Among his family members, only Sheo Kumar, s son of his brother, lives in the village.”

Wife of Sheo Kumar, Sushila said: “I met him in jail nearly a decade ago. We had almost forgotten him.” She has no clue about the crime for which he was in jail.

Though Bodi is free now, his problems are not over. “It will be difficult for him to sustain his living. Sheo Kumar is unemployed and Sushila sews clothes to manage some income for the family,” said a villager.