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| Piyush Meena studying at his father's 8x8 open jail cell in Kota |
June 30, 2016, NewsCrunch
Peeyush Meena, the boy who cracked IIT-JEE studying from an open jail in Kota, is not sure from where the money to pay for his graduation fees will come from.
After passing out of 12th in Shujalpur in Madhya Pradesh, he joined a coaching institute in Kota.
Unable to afford an hostel, he shifted to the open jail in the same town, where his father Phoolchand is serving a life sentence for murder.
Speaking to The Times of India Phoolchand, a former school teacher said, said he needed Rs 2 lakh to pay for coaching and hostel fees of Peeyush Meena. As he could arrange for only Rs 1 lakh, he was forced to accommodate his son in the open jail, which allows convicts to keep their relatives in the tiny 8x8 cell allotted to them.
Though elated at Peeyush Meena's success, Phoolchand is a worried man. He told The Hindustan Times that he is already under a Rs 3-lakh debt and does not know how to pay for his son’s IIT fees.
He also has to pay for the education of his daughter Komleen, who has passed Class 10 this year with 76% marks and wants to become a doctor.
Phoolchand's says his only hope is someone giving a loan which can be paid back after Peeyush Meena passes out of IIT and gets a job.
The open jail also allows convicts to work outside as long they report to the roll-call at 6 am and 7 pm. Phoolchand was not able to get a teaching job due to his criminal background and is forced to work as helper at a medial store for a meager salary.
He and his brothers were awarded a 14 year sentence in 2013 for the murder of the sarpanch of their village.
Studying at the Kota open jail was a difficult experience for Peeyush Meena. As the jail lights switched off at 10 pm he had to study in the pale light which passed through the window from the main building.
The cell was too small to accommodate his father when he was studying. So, Phoolchand would wait outside sometimes till as late as 4 am till his son wrapped up his studies.
The effort paid off and Peeyush Meena bagged the 453rd rank among scheduled tribe students. That should get him a seat in a core branch at either IIT Roorkee or IIT Bhubaneswar.
Only if he can pay the fees.