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The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
College teacher who disguised bomb as wedding gift to target colleague's son gets life sentence
A former college principal in India has been sentenced to life in prison for sending a parcel bomb disguised as a wedding gift in 2018. Punjilal Meher was sentenced by a court in eastern Odisha state's Bolangir on Wednesday, nearly seven years after his parcel bomb killed 26-year-old Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his 85-year-old great aunt, Jenamani. Sahu's wife Reema, was seriously injured in the explosion. The couple had been married for just five days when they opened a parcel delivered to their home in Patnagarh town on 23 February 2018, according to The Indian Express. The package had reportedly been sent to the bridegroom 'in the form of a wedding gift'. Ms Reema, who was 22 at the time, spent over a month in hospital. Sahu was employed as an engineer with a Japanese electronics company in the southern city of Bengaluru. The court found Meher, 49 years old at the time of the attack, guilty of murder, attempted murder, and use of explosives in what was dubbed the 'wedding bomb' case in local media. While the prosecution had described the crime as 'heinous', judge Sonali Patnaik stopped short of deeming it a 'rarest of the rare' case, which would have warranted the death penalty. Recalling the blast, the victim's father, Rabindra Sahu, was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times: 'The parcel, delivered by Sky King Courier from Raipur, detonated when Soumya pulled a thread, causing extensive damage to the house, including cracked walls and shattered windows. While Jemamani died en route to the hospital, Soumya succumbed to his injuries at VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla.' Investigators at the time said that Meher harboured resentment after being replaced as principal by Sanjukta Sahu, the victim's mother, at Jyoti Vikash College where he was the in-charge principal. He had held the post from 2009 until May 2014, when Ms Sahu, a history lecturer at the college, was promoted to the role. Investigators said the demotion deeply unsettled Meher and fuelled feelings of hatred and envy towards her. The Hindu reported that despite Ms Sahu's seniority, Meher refused to relinquish his position, displayed open disrespect, issued threats, and began stirring controversies driven by anger and jealousy. Police said Meher learned how to make explosives by watching YouTube videos and reading online manuals, which he later deleted from his browsing history. During Diwali in 2017, he bought a large quantity of firecrackers and began conducting trials: extracting the gunpowder and packing it into LED lights typically used for Diwali decor, triggering small explosions to test the mechanism. On the day he travelled to Raipur to post the bomb, disguised as a wedding gift, Meher first attended a class and marked his attendance to create an alibi, police said. He didn't purchase a train ticket, likely to avoid leaving a digital trail. Once in Raipur, he used a cycle rickshaw and an auto-rickshaw to visit several courier offices, eventually choosing one with no CCTV or scanning systems. He declared the parcel's contents as 'gift articles, sweets'. The package then travelled 650km by bus, passing through multiple hands before arriving at the Sahu residence. Meher, who is believed to have attended both the wedding and the funeral, allegedly used a false name, 'SK Sharma from Raipur', and a fake address to send the parcel bomb. Police spent several weeks pursuing the case without any significant leads, until April 2018, when the local police chief received an anonymous letter, according to the BBC. The letter claimed the parcel bomb had been sent under the name 'SK Sinha', not 'Sharma', and cited motives including money and the groom's 'betrayal'. It also suggested the attack may have stemmed from a scorned lover or a property dispute. The letter further alleged that three men had 'undertaken the project' but were now 'beyond police reach' and accused officers of 'harassing' innocent people. Police grew suspicious that the anonymous letter was written by the attacker himself. One officer noticed that the name on the parcel, 'Sharma', might have been misread and actually resembled 'Sinha' as mentioned in the letter. The letter also revealed details that only the perpetrator would know. The victim's mother recognised the writing style and phrases as similar to Meher's, helping police zero in on him. 'The turning point came when a cryptic letter was sent to the Balangir superintendent of police, seemingly intended to mislead the investigation,' said police officer Arun Bothra, who was leading the investigation, according to The Hindu. 'But the letter, written in polished English, pointed us towards Meher.' Sahu's father told reporters outside the court after the verdict was delivered that they were 'hoping for capital punishment in the crime considering its rarest of the rare nature'. 'But the court sentenced him to life imprisonment,' he added. 'We express our gratitude to the court.'
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Wedding bomber' wey hide bomb inside gift chop life imprisonment for India
One former college principal for di Odisha state for eastern India don chop life in prison sentence on top say e send parcel bomb wey kill one newly married ma and im great aunty for 2018. Court find 56-year-old Punjilal Meher say e dey guilty of murder, attempted murder, and use of explosives for wetin dem dey call di "wedding bomb" case wey shock India. Im bin make di bomb to resemble wedding gift send am to 26 year old Soumya Sekhar Sahu, wey bin dey work as software engineer, just some days afta e do im wedding Wen di couple open di package, na so e just explode kill Sahu and im great hand injure im wife Reema well-well. Di February 2018 explosion bin happun for Patnagarh, wey be quiet town for di Bolangir district for Odisha. Di victims bin marry for just five days and bin dey make lunch wen parcel land dia house. Di parcel bin addressed to Soumya nad resemble wedding gift allegedly from Raipur in Chattisgarh state, wey be ova 230km (142 miles) away. As Soumya bin dey loose thread from di parcel to open am, na so ogbonge boom just scata di kitchen, kill am and im 85 year old great aunt, Jemamani Sahu, den 22 year old Reema bin survive but get serious burns, punctured eardrum and trauma. Afta long investigate, police come arrest Meher, wey at dat time be 49 years and na teacher and former principal of one local college wey Soumya mama bin dey work. Investigators tok say Meher bin get beef on top of work mata, na so e come carefully plan di attack. E use fake name and address take mail di bomb from Raipur. E even choose dispatcher wey no get CCTV or parcel scanning. Di bomb travel by bus for 650km and pass plenti pipo hand bifor dem deliver am. Investigators say na local but deadly device wey dem wrap wit jute thread arrange say e go blow wen dem open am. Di parcel wey hold d bomb bin get fake name on am, SK Sharma from Raipur. For weeks, dem no get any suspects. Investigators check thousands of phone records and interrogate ova 100 pipo including one man wey bin make threatening call afta Reema engagement, but notin sure. Until April wen di local police chief get anonymous letter. Di letter claim say, di bomb bin dey sent under di name "SK Sinha" no be Sharma and bin mention motives of "betrayal" and money. Di letter claim say three men bin "do di project" and now "don ass who police fit catch". E mention say na di groom "betrayal" and money cause am, say na lover or property mata fit don cause am. Dem also ask make police stop to dey harass innocent pipo. Dat letter change di investigation. Arun Bothra wey be police officer wey bin dey lead Odisha crime branch dat time notice say dem read di handwriting for di parcel wrong, say e resemble "Sinha" pass "Sharma." Most importantly be say di pesin wey write di letter know am as na only who send di parcel fit know am. Di police come reason say na di suspect imself send di letter. Oga Bothra, for 2018 tok say, "e clear say di sender bin know about di crime pass us sef. As im write say e bin dey send by messenger, e bin wan tell us say no be local man do dis crime. E wan tell us say e take three pipo to run am. E bin wan make we take am seriously, so e just expose imself one kain wen e point out our mistake." Di victim mama, wey be college teacher recognise di letter writing pattern say na her colleague own. Na Meher wey be former principal wey she replace. Meher bin first give one long tori about how dem force am wit threat to deliver di letter during tori. Police allege say e later confess say e bin don hold firecrackers from Diwali, comot di gunpowder, build di bomb and mail am from Raipur wit courier. E come allegedly leave im phone for house to create alibi and dodge CCTV wen e no buy train ticket. Meher bin even attend di victim wedding and im burial. Additional reporting by Sandeep Sahu in Bhubaneshwar
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Odisha: Indian teacher gets life sentence for deadly 'wedding bomb' murders
A former college principal in the eastern Indian state of Odisha has been sentenced to life in prison for sending a parcel bomb that killed a newlywed man and his great aunt in 2018. A court found Punjilal Meher, 56, guilty of murder, attempted murder, and use of explosives in what became known as the "wedding bomb" case that stunned India. The bomb, disguised as a wedding gift, was delivered to the home of Soumya Sekhar Sahu, a 26-year-old software engineer, just days after his wedding. When the couple opened the package, it exploded - killing Sahu and his great aunt, and leaving his wife, Reema, who opened the package, critically wounded. While acknowledging the prosecution's argument that it was a "heinous" crime, the court declined to classify it as a "rarest of the rare" case deserving the death BBC covered the incident in a detailed two-part investigative sent the wedding gift bomb that killed this newlywed?A wedding bomb, a letter and an unlikely suspectThe February 2018 explosion took place in Patnagarh, a quiet town in Odisha's Bolangir district. The victims had been married just five days and were preparing lunch when a parcel arrived at their home. It was addressed to Soumya and appeared to be a wedding gift, allegedly sent from Raipur in Chattisgarh state, over 230km (142 miles) Soumya pulled a thread on the parcel to open it, a powerful blast tore through the kitchen, killing him and his 85-year-old great-aunt Jemamani Sahu. Reema, then 22, survived with serious burns, a punctured eardrum, and a prolonged investigation, police arrested Meher, then 49, a teacher and former principal of a local college where Soumya's mother worked. Investigators had told me then that Meher harboured a grudge over professional rivalry and meticulously planned the attack. He used a false name and address to mail the bomb from Raipur, choosing a courier service without CCTV or parcel bomb travelled over 650km (40 miles) by bus, passing through multiple hands before being delivered. Investigators said it was a crude but deadly device wrapped in jute thread, rigged to detonate on parcel carrying the explosive bore a fake name - SK Sharma from Raipur. Weeks passed with no clear suspects. Investigators scoured thousands of phone records and interrogated over 100 people, including one man who had made a threatening call after Reema's engagement - but nothing in April, an anonymous letter reached the local police chief. It claimed the bomb had been sent under the name "SK Sinha," not Sharma, and cryptically mentioned motives of "betrayal" and letter claimed three men had "undertaken the project" and were now "beyond police reach". It cited the groom's "betrayal" and money - hinting at a scorned lover or property dispute - as motives. It also asked police to stop harassing innocents. The letter turned the Bothra, a police officer who then headed Odisha's crime branch, noticed that the handwriting on the parcel's receipt had been misread: it did resemble "Sinha" more than "Sharma." Crucially, the letter writer seemed to know this - something only the sender could have known. The police now believed the suspect had sent the letter himself. "It was clear that the sender knew more about the crime than we did. By writing that it was being sent by a messenger, he wanted to tell us that the crime was not the work of a local man. He wanted to tell us that the plot was executed by three people. He wanted to be taken seriously, so he was kind of blowing his fake cover by pointing out a mistake we had made," Mr Bothra told me in 2018. The victim's mother, a college teacher, recognised the letter's writing style and phraseology as that of a colleague, Meher, a former principal she had replaced. Police had previously dismissed Meher's workplace rivalry as routine academic politics. Now he became the prime questioning, Meher initially offered an implausible story about being forced to deliver the letter under threat. Police allege he later confessed: he had hoarded firecrackers during Diwali, extracted gunpowder, built the bomb, and mailed it from Raipur using a allegedly left his phone at home to create an alibi and avoided CCTV by not buying a train ticket. Meher had even attended both the victim's wedding and reporting by Sandeep Sahu in Bhubaneshwar
