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Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Court gives life term to ex-lecturer in 2018 parcel bomb case
Bhubaneswar/Patnagarh: A court in Balangir district's Patnagarh on Wednesday sentenced former English lecturer Punjilal Meher to life imprisonment for conspiring and killing two persons using a parcel bomb concealed in a wedding gift in 2018, considered a first-of-its-kind crime in the state. Additional district judge pronounced the judgement, spread over 209 pages, holding Punjilal guilty under various IPC sections for murder, attempted murder, disappearance of evidence and making explosives. "The convict in gross abuse of his intellect and knowledge, turned what should have been a symbol of joy into an instrument of horror," the judge observed. "The court, while pronouncing the judgment, observed that it was a heinous crime but not the rarest of rare when we argued for capital punishment for Punjilal. The quantum of punishment is very satisfactory, and all sentences will run concurrently. It means Punjilal's jail term will continue till his death unless he challenges it and the sentence gets commuted," said special public prosecutor C R Kanungo. On Feb 23, 2018, Punjilal delivered the parcel bomb through a courier to his colleague Sanjukta Sahoo's residence in Patnagarh hidden in a wedding gift for her son Soumya Sekhar, then 28. The explosion killed Soumya, a software professional, and his 69-year-old grandmother Jemamani. Balangir police began investigation into the case but made little headway for a month, following which the then BJD govt ordered a crime branch (CB) probe. The court held the motive behind the premeditated murder was professional jealousy, as Punjilal aspired for Sanjukta's position of college principal. The incident occurred on the sixth day after Soumya's wedding. "Justice was finally served after seven years of legal proceedings. Our son is not with us any more, but the judgment may bring peace to his soul. We were pitching for capital punishment, but we have full faith in the judiciary," said Sanjukta. Soumya's father, Rabindra, a retired lecturer, said they would contest the case further if Punjilal moves the appellate court praying for commuting his sentence. "We will not move on our own appealing for capital punishment in a higher court. But we will definitely fight if Punjilal moves court against the judgment," Rabindra told TOI. As many as 62 pieces of evidence were produced in court, collected by the officers during the probe. Also, a video of Punjilal making the bomb was played in the court. The video was shot at an undisclosed place with then IG (crime branch), Arun Bothra, in the frame. During the trial, Kanungo said Punjilal tried to buy time by moving the Orissa high court and Supreme Court. He also changed at least five lawyers. Police officers present in the court said that an otherwise garrulous Punjilal stood straight and silent. During investigation, CB officers found half-burnt pieces of an Odia newspaper in Sanjukta's home, indicating that the bomb was locally made, using local expertise and materials. Earlier, it was suspected the bomb-maker and conspirator might be from outside the state. During its probe, the CB detained five persons, but four were released after officers found Punjilal was the sole conspirator.
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First Post
3 days ago
- First Post
‘Wedding bomb', professional rivalry: How English professor's ‘revenge' that killed 2 in Odisha ended in life term for him
An Odisha court has sentenced a former English professor to life imprisonment for sending a parcel bomb, disguised as a 'wedding gift', that killed a newly married 26-year-old software engineer and his great aunt in 2018, while severely injuring his wife. The case shocked Odisha, and for weeks, there were no leads. Then, an anonymous letter became a turning point, leading to the arrest of Punjilal Meher, who attended both the wedding and the funeral of the victim read more A court in Odisha has sentenced a former English professor to life imprisonment for sending a parcel bomb that killed a newlywed man and his great aunt in 2018. Punjilal Meher, 56, was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and use of explosives. The 2018 case had shaken Odisha and the rest of India. Here we will look at the tale of 'revenge' that took the lives of two people and how the police finally cracked the 'wedding bomb' case. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Wedding bomb' kills two On February 23, 2018, Soumya Sekhar Sahu, a 26-year-old software engineer, and his 22-year-old wife, Reema, were in the kitchen at their family home in Patnagarh, Odisha. It was five days after their wedding when a deliveryman gave Soumya a parcel addressed to him. As per BBC, a sticker on the parcel said it was sent by one SK Sharma from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 'This looks like a wedding gift,' Soumya is reported to have told his wife. 'The only thing that I don't know is the sender. I don't know anyone in Raipur.' As Soumya opened the parcel, there was a flash of light and a huge explosion shook the kitchen. The blast killed him and his 85-year-old great-aunt Jemamani Sahu, both of whom had suffered 90 per cent burns. Reema survived but had serious burns and a punctured eardrum. Odisha police cracks the case The Odisha police solved the 'wedding bomb' case after two months. However, weeks after the crime, there were no clear suspects. They questioned more than 100 people, mostly friends and relatives of the couple, but did not get any leads. The investigators said it was a meticulously planned and executed crime. After the police's initial investigation, the case was later taken over by the Odisha Crime Branch. Speaking to BBC in March 2018, Reema said that her husband, Soumya, had received a mysterious call when he was in Bengaluru. 'The call came last year. We were talking on the phone, and he said there was a call coming in. And I vaguely remember he put me on hold, and later told me, 'I got a threatening call. A man on the line told me not to marry.'' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Soumya did not mention any other such calls, and the couple went ahead with the marriage. The police scoured phone records and even interrogated the man who had made the threatening call to Soumya, but there was still no headway. Then, an anonymous letter by the convict in April helped the Odisha Crime Branch, led by senior IPS officer Arun Bothra, crack the case. The tale of English professor's 'revenge' The letter, sent to the then Bolangir Superintendent of Police, said that the bomb was sent under the name 'SK Sinha,' not Sharma. It also claimed that three people were involved in the 'project' – the explosion – and mentioned the motive as 'his (Soumya's) betrayal' that led to many people losing their lives and money. It also asked the police to 'stop harassing innocent people'. The letter, which allegedly tried to derail the police investigation, turned the probe. Arun Bothra, the then-IG and Additional DG-ranked officer, noticed that the handwriting on the parcel's sticker was misread: it appeared like 'Sinha' more than 'Sharma.' This is something that only the sender of the letter could have known. The police believed now that the suspect had sent the letter himself, as per BBC. '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,' Bothra told BBC in 2018. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As per Indian Express, the senior IPS officer said the letter was meant to'deceive' the investigation agency, but the accused had left 'many clues in the letter'. 'The language, the font size and the spacing in the letter indicated that it was sent by someone with command over English. It led us to zero in on the accused, who was an English lecturer. When we searched his house, we got some evidence, which was scientifically matched. That was the turning point in the case,' Bothra said. Soumya's mother and college teacher, Sanjukta Sahu, recognised the writing style and phraseology in the letter, linking it to her colleague, Punjilal Meher, as reported by BBC. The police then questioned Meher, who initially claimed that he was forced to deliver the letter under threat. However, he later confessed. Meher, an English lecturer, planned the crime after Sanjukta replaced him as the principal of Jyoti Vikas College in Bhainsa. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He began hoarding firecrackers during Diwali, extracted gunpowder from them and used the internet to learn how to assemble bombs. The bomb he made was put in a cardboard box and gift-wrapped. Days before the blast, Meher went to college and came back home to collect the parcel, as per I_ndian Express._ He went to Kantabanji with the parcel and then took a train to Chhattisgarh's Raipur, around 250 km from Patnagarh town. He did not buy a train ticket to avoid detection. In Raipur, Meher searched for courier services that operated from basements and had no CCTVs. He told the services that the parcel had 'gift articles'. Police sources told the newspaper that he gave the fake name – SK Sinha – as the sender's and a wrong address. Meher returned home on an evening train. The bomb travelled more than 650 km by bus, exchanging multiple hands before the delivery to the victim. As per investigators, it was a crude but deadly device wrapped in jute thread, which was meant to detonate on opening the parcel, reported BBC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 'wedding gift' reached Patnagarh on February 20 and Soumya received it three days later. Meher, who had also left his phone at home to create an alibi, had attended both the victim's wedding and funeral. In August 2018, the Crime Branch's chargesheet mentioned statements of 72 witnesses. Its evidence included the letter and receipt books of the parking lot at Kantabanji railway station. ALSO READ: Baba Siddique murder: How the killing was planned in Patiala jail and executed in Mumbai Sahu family gets justice Over seven years after losing her son, Sanjukta Sahu has got justice. A Sessions Court in Odisha's Bolangir district on Wednesday (May 28) convicted Meher to life imprisonment. The lone accused in the 2018 Patnagarh parcel bomb case was sentenced after days of a marathon hearing, which included the examination of 62 witnesses, reported LiveLaw. While the prosecution had demanded the death penalty for Meher for the 'heinous' crime, the court did not classify it as a ' rarest of the rare ' case. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict. Sanjukta Sahu expressed satisfaction with the court ruling. However, she pointed out that she could not get back what she lost. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We were hoping for capital punishment in the crime considering its rarest of the rare nature. But the court sentenced life imprisonment. We express our gratitude to the court,' Rabindra Sahu, the victim's father, reportedly said outside the court. With inputs from agencies
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
'Wedding bomb' murderer gets life sentence in India
NEW DELHI — 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 penalty. The BBC covered the incident in a detailed two-part investigative series. The 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) away. As 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 trauma. After 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 scanning. The bomb traveled over 650km 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 opening. The 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 stuck. Then, 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 money. The 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 investigation. Arun 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," Bothra told me in 2018. The victim's mother, a college teacher, recognized 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 suspect. Under 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 courier. He 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 funeral. — BBC
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Parcel bomb sent as wedding gift to avenge college rivalry in Odisha; mastermind Punjilal Meher sentenced to life
BHUBANESWAR: In a major success for Odisha Police, a court in Balangir on Wednesday convicted Punjilal Meher, the mastermind of the sensational Patnagarh parcel bomb case, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court of the Additional District Judge had recently completed the trial in the case, nearly seven years after the shocking incident that killed software engineer Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his maternal grandmother Jemamani Sahu. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Meher on two counts of murder and for causing grievous injury. The case dates back to 23 February 2018, when a wedding gift was delivered to the residence of 26-year-old software engineer Soumya, just days after his marriage. When opened, the box exploded, killing Soumya and Jemamani. Soumya's wife, Reema Sahu, was critically injured. After the local police failed to make any headway, the Odisha government handed over the investigation to the Crime Branch, led by then-IG and Additional DG-ranked officer Arun Bothra. Following a meticulous investigation and evidence gathering, the Crime Branch traced the case back to Meher, a lecturer at Jyoti Vikash College.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
A wedding, a parcel bomb and an English professor's revenge – 7 years later, case that captivated Odisha ends in conviction
A court in Odisha's Bolangir district Wednesday convicted Punjilal Meher, the lone accused in the 2018 Patnagarh parcel bomb case that killed two people, including a 26-year-old newly-wed man. Meher, then a lecturer in a local college, has been sentenced to life imprisonment. The ruling, in what was India's first parcel bomb case, came seven years after Meher allegedly sent a bomb to the victim in the form of a wedding gift. The court of the additional district judge (ADJ) also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Meher, who was present at the time of the ruling. Sanjukta Sahu, the mother of Soumya Sekhar Sahu — a software engineer by profession who had just been married — said she was satisfied with the court ruling, although she added that she could not get back what she lost. Soumya's 85-year-old great aunt, Jenamani, was also killed in the explosion, while his wife, Reema, sustained severe injuries. 'We were hoping for capital punishment in the crime considering its rarest of the rare nature. But the court sentenced life imprisonment. We express our gratitude to the court,' Rabindra Sahu, the victim's father, told the media outside the court. The case On February 23, 2018 — five days into his marriage – Soumya was killed after a parcel he had just received as a gift exploded. According to investigators, the crime was planned and executed meticulously. While the police initially investigated it, the probe was taken over by the Odisha Crime Branch. Over 100 suspects were questioned, with the investigators eventually arresting Meher, a colleague of Soumya's mother Sanjukta. According to police sources, Meher allegedly planned the crime after Sanjukta replaced him as the principal of Jyoti Vikas College in Bhainsa. In its chargesheet, the Crime Branch named Meher as the lone accused and said that the crime was an act of 'revenge'. According to Soumya's family, the accused had attended both the wedding and the funeral of the victim. Meher, an English lecturer, had allegedly begun to collect firecrackers from Diwali the previous year, hoarding gunpowder used in the crackers and using the internet to learn how to assemble bombs, making some test explosives first before he made the final product. The bomb he made was then put in a cardboard box and gift-wrapped. Days before the explosion, Punjilal attended college and returned home to collect the parcel. He took it to Kantabanji, where he boarded a train to Raipur, Chhattisgarh, around 250 km from Patnagarh town. In Raipur, the accused allegedly looked for courier services that were in basements and that had no CCTVs, telling them that the parcel had 'gift articles'. To hide his identity, he put the sender's name down as S K Sharma and also gave an incorrect address. Then, he took an evening train back home, police sources had said. The 'gift' parcel reached Patnagarh on February 20 and was delivered to Soumya's residence three days later. To further mislead investigators, the accused sent an anonymous letter to the then Bolangir Superintendent of Police saying three people were involved in the 'project' – the blast – and that the reason for it was 'his (Soumya's) betrayal' that led to several people losing their lives and money. The letter also asked the police to 'stop harassing innocent people'. It was this letter – allegedly aimed at derailing police investigation – that helped the Crime Branch crack the case. According to investigators, this was 'a special case as there was no evidence at all when the Crime Branch took up the investigation'. 'All evidence was circumstantial and there were no eyewitnesses,' senior IPS officer Arun Bothra, who led the investigation, told reporters. 'We are satisfied that we took it to conviction from a blind case, and justice is served to the family.' While the letter sent to the Bolangir SP was meant to 'deceive' the investigation agency, the accused had left 'many clues in the letter', Bothra said. 'The language, the font size and the spacing in the letter indicated that it was sent by someone with command over English. It led us to zero in on the accused, who was an English lecturer. When we searched his house, we got some evidence, which was scientifically matched. That was the turning point in the case,' Bothra said. The agency's chargesheet in August 2018 included statements of as many as 72 witnesses. Among their list of evidence was the letter and receipt books of the parking lot at Kantabanji railway station. Also seized were mobile phones, a laptop, pen drives, hard disks and CCTV footage of a courier service in Raipur.
