Bhubaneswar: The Additional District Judge Court in Patnagarh has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to accused Punjilal Meher in the infamous Patnagarh parcel bomb blast case, which had sent shockwaves in the state in 2018.
A fine of Rs 50,000 has also been imposed on Meher, an English lecturer and former principal at Jyoti Vikas College.
After recording the statements of 62 witnesses and the accused Meher, the court has delivered its verdict.
Based on the witness testimonies and evidence presented, Meher has been proven guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the deadly parcel bomb attack that claimed two lives and left a young bride with physical and emotional scars.
According to the case diary, the incident occurred on February 23, 2018. Newly-wed couple, software engineer Soumyasekhar and his wife Reema Rani, received a parcel on the fateful day. Out of curiosity, Soumyasekhar opened the parcel thinking it was a wedding gift.
Soumyasekhar and his 85-year-old grandmother Jemamani Sahu were killed as it exploded, while Reema, who was sitting next to Soumyasekhar, was severely injured but survived.
During the investigation, the police discovered that Meher, a former principal and English lecturer at Jyoti Vikas College, was behind the attack. Meher was upset because Soumyasekhar’s mother, Sanjukta Sahu, had taken over his position. The police found that Meher plotted the attack as revenge against the Sahu family.
To take revenge, Meher spent months researching how to make explosives. He bought chemicals and firecrackers and even travelled to Raipur to send the bomb parcel under a fake identity. He did all this to hide his involvement and avoid getting caught.
The court delivered its verdict after seven years of the incident, bringing closure to the infamous case.
