Rashid Khan, serving a life term for the Bowbazar blasts that killed 69 people, may soon be free again.

The state government has initiated a process for an early release of the former satta don, whose case has come up for remission after having served 14 years in jail.

“Khan has completed 14 years in prison and there is nothing adverse in his jail report. We’ve recommended his release to the judicial department,” said inspector-general of police (prisons) B.D. Sharma on Tuesday.

A jails department official said the prisoner’s behaviour in jail has been satisfactory. “He is very religious and offers namaz five times a day. The Alipore jail authorities have given him a favourable report,” said the official.

The judicial department, if it finds merit in the case, will forward it to the State Sentence Review Board, which will decide on Khan’s release.

Set up following a directive from the National Human Rights Commission, the board is chaired by home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray.

The other members are the director-general of police, inspector-general of police (prisons), police commissioner and the secretaries of the jails and judicial departments.

At its meeting last month, the board had cleared the early release of 26 prisoners serving life terms in various jails.

Apart from the prisoner’s behaviour in the jail, the other factors that the board takes into account while deciding on a prisoner’s release are the police report and the recommendation of the state probation officer.

“The police report in Khan’s case has been sought. The report will focus on the law-and-order situation around his residence to help us judge whether he will be safe after release,” said an officer.

Another criterion for an early release of a lifer is his/her age. In Khan’s case, age seems to be on his side. “Usually, we do not release prisoners who are young. But Khan has just crossed 60,” said a state government official.

The blasts on March 16, 1993, had been triggered by the huge amount of explosives that Khan had stocked in his Bowbazar home, fearing a communal attack following the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992.

The blast took place a couple of months after the Mumbai explosions, which killed over 260 people.

Khan, tried under Tada, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2001. The number of years spent in jail before the conviction was deducted from the total prison term.