Bhubaneswar: The Khordha District Sessions Court on Tuesday sentenced two individuals, Kabu alias Ashok Das and Papuni alias Manoj Das, to life imprisonment after convicting them in a 2022 murder case under Saheed Nagar police limits.
In addition to the life sentence, the Court imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on each convict. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional one-year imprisonment for both.
The verdict was delivered based on the testimonies of 18 witnesses and supporting documents submitted during the trial.
The incident occurred around 2:00 AM on August 31, 2022, when Soumya Ranjan Kunda, who was sleeping in his betel shop near Vani Vihar Square, was brutally assaulted by Kabu and Papuni.
A critically injured Soumya was rescued by a PCR van and taken to Capital Hospital. As his condition worsened, he was shifted to AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where he succumbed to his injuries at 6:30 AM the same day while undergoing treatment.
Following the incident, Soumya’s younger brother, Sagar Kumar Kunda, filed an FIR with the Saheed Nagar police. Based on the FIR, a murder case was registered, and IIC Himanshu Bhusan Swain took up the investigation.
Swain’s thorough investigation led to the timely arrest of Kabu and Papuni. The charge sheet was submitted well within the stipulated timeframe, enabling the trial to proceed without delay.
