Bihar: Murder convict out of jail after 14 years, now teaches 300 children free of charge

Vaishali: A murder convict has not just reformed himself, but is also helping build a secure future for many poor children in Bihar. Out of jail after 14 years, Dipak Kumar runs a school and teaches more than 300 poor children almost free of charge.

Dipak Kumar is a father figure to the children. The teacher and owner of his school, he takes care of them through the day. He runs his school which teaches poor students for free or on minimal charges.

Kumar served life imprisonment after he was found guilty of murdering his landlord over a property dispute. After being freed, he either had the options to join the outlaws and mint money or use his LLB/MSc degree to good use. His conscience prevailed, and he chose the latter to start his school.

"After release from the jail in 2005, I had two options. The first was to join the hands with gangsters and second was to educate the poor children of my society. So I felt the second option was better," Dipak said.

It was not easy for the murder convict to convince others. But slowly and steadily he gained their confidence. Interestingly, among other children, the son and nephew of the murdered landlord also took admission in his school. Today, Kumar struggles to keep his school afloat as the strength of students has dropped from 650 to 370 due to a lack of infrastructure.

As a reformed convict, he knocked all possible doors to seek government's assistance and funds for building his school under various government run schemes for rehabilitating convicts, but all in vain. Today, his free school is empowering poverty-stricken kids who couldn't afford a paid education elsewhere.

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