Former Haryana Chief Minister and Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala, who was serving a 10-year prison term in a teachers' recruitment scam, was released from Delhi's Tihar Jail on Friday after completing due formalities.
The 86-year-old INLD president, who was already out on parole, reached Tihar on Friday to complete formalities after which he was released from jail.
Delhi Government had last month passed an order granting a six-month special remission to those who have served nine-and-half years of their 10-year prison sentence to decongest jails in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the officials, since Chautala had already served nine years and nine months of his sentence, he was eligible to get out of prison.
Director General (Delhi Prisons), Sandeep Goel confirmed that after necessary formalities, Chautala has been released from the prison.
Chautala was jailed on January 16, 2013 in connection with the teachers' recruitment scam case. He was on emergency parole since March 26, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and was scheduled to surrender on February 21, 2021. However, his parole was extended by the High Court.
As on February 21, he had two months and 27 days of jail time left which has been counted as remitted.
Notably, OP Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala, and 53 others, including IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar, were convicted and sentenced in the case of illegal recruitment of 3,206 junior basic teachers.
They all were sentenced to varying jail terms in the case by a special CBI court in January 2013.
OP Chautala to contest Ellenabad byelection: Abhay
After the release of the former Chief Minister from jail, the INLD leader and his younger son Abhay Chautala on Friday said that if there is no legal obstacle, the party patriarch OP Chautala will contest the Ellenabad byelection.
Our party legal cell is working on this issue. We will also approach the Election Commission... If there is no legal hurdle, OP Chautala will contest the Ellebabad assembly seat bypoll, Abhay said while talking to the mediapersons here.
He said that the government is running away from the byelection for Ellenabad assembly seat. Both BJP and Congress are aware that they will never win this seat, he added.
Barring Abhay Chautala, who had retained Ellenabad seat in Sirsa district, over 80 candidates of the INLD had to bite the dust in 2019 Haryana Assembly polls. He had however resigned earlier this year from the Ellenabad seat on the issue of three central farm laws.
Abhay also said that the party chief will visit the farmers' agitation site to meet them and extend his support to the stir. The party chief will also visit all districts across the state to meet the party workers, he said.
The INLD leader also accused the Congress of conspiring against OP Chautala to send him to prison and the AAP led Delhi Government for delaying his release.
The INLD, which has lost its ground in Haryana is likely to benefit with the comeback of its chief. In his absence, the INLD was divided and his elder son Ajay Chautala had formed a separate political outfit-Jannayak Janata Party.
With Chautala out of jail now, the party is looking to retain Ellenabad seat, which is known as a stronghold of the INLD.