Goes back to jail on day of release

- Kerala man spends 17 years in jail - Released on March 13 to go home - As he turned violent, he was sent to jail again Mohammed Irfan Jeddah: A Kerala man who was released on Wednesday after 17 years in prison was again packed off to the prison. The tragic story of Sulaiman Kutty, a native of Kozhikode, began on the very day he landed here. A He was caught with a packet of narcotics. Innocent that he was, he brought it along with him, when someone back home convinced him that it was some medicine to be delivered to a person in Saudi. He was caught by the customs officials as he landed at Dahran airport in Saudi Arabia in 1997 and was straight away moved to a prison. A court awarded him a 15-year jail term and a penalty of SR 100,000.A Kutty, shocked by rapid turn of events, was soon seized by a fear of prospects of a death sentence. He became a mental wreck in 1999 and was since confined to a solitary place. His pathetic state attracted the attention of the authorities and his name was included in the general amnesty declared by King Fahd in 2005. The amnesty involved 50 per cent waiver of the penalty amount, which got reduced to SR 50,000 in Kutty's case.A As he could not pay even the reduced penalty, he remained in prison. Meanwhile, Mohammed Kutty, the elder brother of Sulaiman, and other family members approached the Indian and the Saudi authorities including Saudi Human Rights Commission to seek his release. After several attempts, officials of the Ministry of Finance in Saudi Arabia agreed to waive the remaining penalty under the amnesty scheme. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh issued an emergency certificate and an Indian businessman provided Air India Express ticket to Sulaiman Kutty and he was scheduled to leave on Wednesday night for Kozhikode, accompanied by his elder brother Mohammed Kutty.A However, as soon as he was moved to the airport, Kutty (45) turned violent on seeing his brother and started attacking him and other passengers at the airport. Fearing that he would cause trouble aboard the place, the authorities again sent him back to the prison.