Odisha court sentences Punjilal Meher to life imprisonment in Patnagarh parcel bomb blast case

Patnagarh (Odisha) [India], May 29 (ANI): The Sessions Judge of Patnagarh court convicted Punjilal Meher on Wednesday, in connection with the parcel bomb explosion that occurred on February 23, 2018, at the residence of Rabindra Kumar Sahoo in Brahmapura, Patnagarh, said the release statement.
The incident resulted in the deaths of Soumya Sekhar Sahoo and her grandmother, Jemamani Sahoo. Rimarani, wife of the deceased Soumya Sekhar Sahoo, was seriously injured in the explosion. The case was initially registered as Patnagarh PS Case No. 35/2018 and was later taken over by the Crime Branch on March 23, 2018, as CB PS Case No. 7/2018.
The investigation was led by Anil Kumar Dash, then Additional SP of the Crime Branch, under the supervision of Arun Bothra, IG CID CB. During the investigation, several types of evidence were collected, including circumstantial, scientific, electronic, discovery evidence, and identification parade evidence.
The charge sheet was filed against Punjilal Meher under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, read with Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act.
The prosecution presented 62 witnesses, 100 documents, and 51 material objects before the court. The accused presented three defense witnesses, including himself, and eight documents.
After evaluating the evidence and hearing arguments from both sides, the court found Punjilal Meher guilty on all charges. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000. He was also sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 under Section 307 IPC, seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 201 IPC, life imprisonment and a fine of Rs50,000 under Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, and rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, along with default clauses.
C.R. Kanungo, Special Public Prosecutor, conducted the prosecution. Adv. Pramod Kumar Mishra represented the defence. Bijaya Kumar Mallick, Additional SP CB, served as the prosecution's Head Investigating Officer.(ANI)