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India Gazette
a day ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Delhi court sentences former MLA to 6 months in jail for threatening to blow up Parliament
New Delhi [India], May 30 (ANI): Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Friday sentenced ex-MLA Kishore Samrite to six months of imprisonment for giving a threat to blow up Parliament in September 2022. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him. Samrite is an ex-MLA from Lanji and was convicted of making a threat to blow up the Parliament. On 18.02.2025, the court had convicted him for the offence punishable under section 506 Part II IPC for writing a letter containing a threat. Special judge Vishal Gogne, after hearing submissions on the quantum of sentence, awarded Kishore Samrite six months imprisonment and fined him Rs 50,000. The court has granted him bail to appeal against the judgment. Samrite was acquitted of the offence under the Explosives Act,1884, as the suspicious substance could not be proved an explosive. The court pointed out, 'However, it still bears utmost reiteration that the threatening letter and the suspicious substance were sent to the Parliament of India, which is the temple of Indian democracy.' An FIR under sections 5(a) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 & 9B(1)(b) of the Explosive Act,1884 was registered by the Crime Branch, Delhi police. The allegation against him was that he threatened to blow up the Parliament of India and the then under construction building of the Parliament with dynamite at 11:00 o'clock on 30.09.2022 by sending a letter of threat (containing certain demands) and a suspicious substance to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha on 16.09.2022. While sentencing Samrite for the offence under section 506 (II) IPC, the court said that the convict was not just an ordinary citizen. He is a former MLA from Lanji, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. The court also said that being most acquainted and sensitised to the security of Parliamentary establishments and more so to the sanctity of such representative institutions, his dispatch of such a threatening letter to the Parliament acted to normalise the threat of violence towards the elected Houses of the Parliament. 'If such conduct is not deterred, it raises the prospect of others emulating the course taken by Mr. Samrite for voicing his dissent towards government policies. Perhaps, every such threat would not be accompanied by harmless substances,' the special judge observed. The court further said that Parliament It is a forum where issues of all hues and pertaining to national interest are expected to be discussed with decorum and in deference to public aspirations. 'For the highest contemplative body of the country to be subjected to a threat of being blown up with dynamite and the threatening letter to actually be accompanied by a suspicious substance is indeed a grave circumstance which requires an appropriate sentence,' the court said. 'Considering the above-noted mitigating and aggravating circumstances, convict Kishore Samrite is sentenced to simple imprisonment for six months along with a fine of Rs 50,000 upon conviction under section 506 Part II IPC,' Special Judge Gogne ordered on May 30. During arguments on sentence, the public prosecutor pressed for the maximum sentence of seven years provided under section 506, Part II, IPC. It was also argued that the convict willingly sent a threatening letter to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha along with a suspicious substance and that even though the suspicious substance did not turn out to be an explosive or explosive substance, the convict is still guilty of causing grave alarm at the Parliament establishment. The Prosecution prayed that a suitably deterrent sentence was required to be imposed for discouraging such violation of the security of the Parliament of India. He is involved in as many as 20 criminal cases and has previously displayed violent tendencies and the inclination to violate the law. On the other hand, the Counsel for Samrite read the contents of the said letter and argued that the tenor of this letter was only to agitate issues of local, national or public concern including alleged scams, creation of new states, issues pertaining to women and youth, encroachment of public land and like issues. The counsel also cited the period of detention of three months and one day already undergone by the convict during trial and submitted that this period, along with the long duration of trial, has already served as severe punishment and time for reflection for the convict. The court noted that Samrite previously convicted under sections 435, 149, 332, 149, 427, 149 and 147 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 3(1)(x) of SC/ST Act by the Special Judge (SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act), Balaghat, District Balaghat, he is not entitled to be considered for release on probation. (ANI)
Hans India
3 days ago
- Hans India
Punjilal gets lifer in parcel bomb case
Bhubaneswar: Punjilal Meher was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Bolangir district on Wednesday for killing two persons, including a groom, by sending a parcel bomb as a wedding gift. Punjilal, a lecturer at Jyoti Vikas College in Bhainsa, had a professional enmity with the groom's mother at the college where she worked as the principal. Due to this reason, Punjilal hatched the conspiracy to kill her son Soumya and sent the bomb as a wedding gift in 2018, police said. Sonali Pattanaik, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Patnagarh, has convicted the accused Punjilal Meher (56) and sentenced him to life imprisonment, government counsel Chittaranjan Kanungo said. The court convicted him under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (destroy evidence of a crime) of IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, he said. The court sentenced life imprisonment under two sections, 10 years of imprisonment under two charges and seven years imprisonment under another charge. Kanungo said that all the sentences would run concurrently. To prove the case, the prosecution examined 62 witnesses, 100 documentary evidences and 51 material objects, in the court. 'Our submission was to treat it as a rarest of rare cases. However, the court did not observe it as a rarest of rare cases because all heinous crime cases cannot be treated like that,' the public prosecutor said. He said the quantum of punishment pronounced by the court is very encouraging. It will give a positive message to the society at large. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.40 lakh on the convict. He will remain behind bars for the rest of his life, Kanungo informed mediapersons outside the court. Arun Bothra, a senior police officer, who led the Crime Branch investigation into the case in 2018, said, 'When we took over the case, there was no evidence, no eyewitness, nothing to lead the investigation. There was no suspicion on Punjilal Meher.' The Crime Branch got clues from an anonymous letter sent to the Bolangir SP (by Punjilal), Bothra said. 'We collected crucial evidence like the cover of the letter, soft copy of the letter, the printer used to print it, and adhesive used to seal the letter from Punjilal Meher's possession. All were scientifically matched and proved,' Bothra told mediapersons. Later, the accused narrated the entire episode and also demonstrated the bomb-making procedure before the police, he said, adding that Punjilal admitted to having learnt the process of parcel bomb-making from videos on the internet. 'I feel satisfied after the accused was convicted by the court and justice has been served to the victim's family,' Bothra, who is now serving as the ADG of Police, Railways and Coastal Security, said. 'We have suffered an irreparable loss. We were praying for the death sentence. Still, we are satisfied with the judgment of the court,' the deceased groom's father, Rabindra Sahoo, said. Sanjukta Sahoo, the victim's mother, too, expressed satisfaction with the court ruling while comparing Punjilal with a demon. Soumya Sekhar Sahoo, in his mid-twenties, and his 85-year-old grandmother, Jemamani Sahoo, were killed in the blast. His wife, Rimarani, suffered critical injuries when a parcel bomb, disguised as a wedding gift, exploded at their Patnagarh home in Bolangir district on February 23, 2018. The blast had taken place when the groom opened the gift. Following a request by the new bride and her family, the then chief minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered the Crime Branch to probe into the incident. The Crime Branch took over the investigation on March 23, 2018, and arrested Punjilal in April 2018. He is currently lodged in the Patnagarh sub-jail. The Crime Branch had said that revenge was the motive behind the crime.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Life sentence for college teacher who plotted sensational murder in Odisha
A local court in Odisha on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) sentenced Punjilal Meher, a college teacher, to rigorous life imprisonment for sending a parcel bomb to the home of a woman colleague who had been promoted ahead of him. The bomb, camouflaged as a wedding gift, exploded and killed two persons, including her newlywed son at Patnagarh in Balangir district on February 23, 2018. The murder, infamously known as the Patnagarh parcel bomb case, shook the entire State and later went on to become plot of movies in multiple languages. What stunned everyone was the sheer incomprehensibility of the motive — a college teacher orchestrating a brutal murder simply because his woman colleague was appointed principal of a college he believed should have been his. Additional District Judge, Patnagarh, Sonali Patnaik found him guilty under Sections 302, 307 and 201 of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. After seven years of trial, the convict was sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. He was also handed imprisonment of 10 years each separately and seven years on different counts. Total penalty imposed on him was ₹1.40 lakh. As many as 62 witnesses were examined, 100 numbers of documentary evidence and 51 material objects were submitted in the court. The convict Meher, an English teacher, was in-charge principal of Jyoti Vikash College since 2009 and he felt threatened after senior lecturer Sanjukta Sahu became principal in 2014. Despite her seniority, he refused to step down, showed no respect, issued threats, and began creating controversies out of anger and jealousness. He began to hatch a plan to cause unimaginable pain to Ms. Sahu. Ms. Sahu's only son, Soumya Sekhar Sahu, was working as an engineer at a Japanese electronics firm in Bengaluru. His wedding was solemnised on February 18, 2018, followed by a reception on February 20. As the family basked in the joy of the celebrations, a parcel arrived at their newly built home on February 23, 2018 — sent by Meher. Believing it to be a wedding gift, Soumya opened the package out of curiosity. It exploded instantly. Soumya and his grandmother were killed in the blast, while his five-day-old wife Rima sustained grievous burn injuries. Since there were no eyewitnesses to the tragic incident and no clues about who had sent the parcel, the Balangir district police investigation hit a dead end. However, when the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police took over, the case began to take a new direction. 'It was a blind case. We began the investigation based solely on circumstantial evidence — which, at the time, was virtually non-existent. The turning point came when a cryptic letter was sent to the Balangir Superintendent of Police, seemingly intended to mislead the investigation. But the letter, written in polished English, pointed us toward Meher,' said senior IPS officer Arun Bothra, who was leading the probe. 'Later, we collected scientific evidence and corroborated it through forensic analysis. During questioning, Meher himself admitted he had never imagined he would be caught. He had executed the murder plot with every possible precaution,' Mr. Bothra added. The convict had learned to make bombs by watching YouTube videos and began collecting explosives from firecrackers purchased during Deepavali in 2017. Chitta Ranjan Kanungo, public prosecutor, said it was an extremely challenging trial, and the Crime Branch of the State Police had painstakingly gathered evidence that withstood judicial scrutiny. The parents of the deceased expressed satisfaction that the convict had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
NDTV
3 days ago
- NDTV
Odisha Man Kills 2 By Sending Parcel Bomb As Wedding Gift, Gets Life Term
Bhubaneswar: A lecturer was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Odisha's Bolangir district on Wednesday for killing two persons, including a groom, by sending a parcel bomb as a wedding gift. Punjilal Meher, a lecturer at Jyoti Vikas College in Bhainsa, had a professional enmity with the groom's mother at the college where she worked as the principal. Due to this reason, Punjilal hatched the conspiracy to kill her son Soumya and sent the bomb as a wedding gift in 2018, the police said. The Patnagarh Additional District Judge (ADJ) court has convicted the accused Punjilal Meher in the case and sentenced him to life imprisonment, government counsel Chittaranjan Kanungo said. The court convicted him under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (destroy evidence of a crime) of IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, he said. The court sentenced life imprisonment under two sections, 10 years of imprisonment under two charges and seven years imprisonment under another charge. Kanungo said that all the sentences would run concurrently. "Our submission was to treat it as a rarest of rare cases. However, the court did not observe it as a rarest of rare cases because all heinous crime cases cannot be treated like that," the public prosecutor said. He said the quantum of punishment pronounced by the court is very encouraging. It will give a positive message to the society at large. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.70 lakh on the convict. He will remain behind bars for the rest of his life, Kanungo informed media persons outside the court. Soumya Sekhar, a man in his mid-twenties, and his 85-year-old grandmother were killed in the blast. His wife, Seema Sahoo, suffered critical injuries when a parcel bomb, disguised as a wedding gift, exploded at their Patnagarh home in Bolangir district on February 23, 2018. The blast had taken place when the groom opened the gift. Following a request by the new bride and her family, the then chief minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered the Crime Branch to probe into the incident. The Crime Branch took over the investigation on March 23, 2018, and arrested Meher in April 2018. He is currently lodged in the Patnagarh sub-jail. The Crime Branch, in its charge sheet, has accused Punjilal Meher an English lecturer at the college where the victim Soumya Sekhar's mother Sanjukta Sahu was the principal. The investigating agency has said that revenge was the motive behind the crime.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Odisha: English lecturer gets life term for 2018 parcel bomb that killed two
Bhubaneswar: An Odisha court on Wednesday sentenced an English lecturer of a private college to life imprisonment for executing a bomb blast that killed a newly-wed software engineer, his grandmothers and severely injured his wife in 2018. Seven years ago the bomb, sent by courier from Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, exploded when Soumya Sekhar Sahu (26) opened the parcel at his family home in Bolangir's Patnagarh town on February 23. The explosion killed him and his grandmother Jemamani Sahu, 85. The newly-wed bride, Reema (22) suffered extensive injuries in the explosion and was admitted to hospital for more than a month. Soumya and Reema had been married for five days. Additional sessions judge of Patnagarh Sonali Patnaik sentenced lecturer Punjilal Meher, who taught at Jyoti Vikas College in western Odisha's Patnagarh town in Bolangir district, to life imprisonment and penalty of ₹50000. The court sentenced Meher under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act, terming the crime as 'heinous' and 'premeditated'. Also Read: Parcel bomb that killed 2 in Gujarat was sent by man suspecting wife's fidelity Rabindra Sahu, the father of the victim, said, '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 V.S.S. Medical College and Hospital, Burla.' According to the state CID that took over the case, Meher was aggrieved over the software engineer's mother, Sanjukta Sahu, replacing him as the principal. He was the principal from 2009 till May 2014, when Sanjukta, a history lecturer and became the principal of the college. This rankled Meher and triggered hate and envy in his mind for her. Police said Meher watched bomb-making videos on YouTube, scoured the internet for manuals, and then erased his search history. During Diwali 2017, he purchased a large quantity of firecrackers and began experimenting. Before assembling the fatal bomb, he dismantled the firecrackers and packed their contents into LED lights used for Diwali decorations, triggering smaller explosions as tests. Also Read: Panic over hoax bomb threat at DG women welfare office in Lucknow On the day he travelled to Raipur by train to send the bomb disguised as a wedding gift to the Sahu household, Meher first attended a class and marked his attendance. He didn't even buy a ticket for the journey. In Raipur, he used a cycle rickshaw and a tuk-tuk to visit various courier services, eventually booking the parcel at one of them and declaring its contents as 'gift articles, sweets.' The parcel travelled 650 km by bus, passing through multiple hands before reaching the Sahu household. Police found a copy of the courier agency's receipt from his house in Patnagarh town. He had left his phone at home to create an alibi. Also Read: Explosion in parcel from Amritsar creates panic in Bengal post office, probe on The parcel, sent through a courier in Raipur, was initially attributed to a sender named 'SK Sharma'—a name investigators later confirmed to be fake. According to the CID, during the investigation, an anonymous letter was sent to the Balangir superintendent of police (SP), claiming the parcel was actually sent by 'SK Sinha', not 'SK Sharma'. The letter alleged that three men carried out the blast due to the groom's 'betrayal and a financial dispute,' suggesting motives such as a scorned lover or property issues. It also urged the police to 'remain silent' and avoid harassing innocent people. This letter helped the state CID zero in on Meher. The victim's mother identified Meher as a potential suspect after noticing similarities between the phrasing in the letter and his writing style—particularly his use of the phrase 'completing the project.' Meher reportedly attended both the wedding and Soumya's funeral, to avoid any suspicion.
