Tripura: Traffic inspector among 4 gets life term in murder case

A court in Tripura handed life imprisonment to four individuals and also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each for killing a bank official.

The District and Sessions Judge Subhasish Sharma of West Tripura found the four individuals involved in the high-profile murder case of Bank Manager Bodhisattwa Das to be ‘guilty’ under sections 302 and 34 (common intention).

The judgment regarding their sentence will be delivered on Saturday. Samrat Kar Bhowmik, the public prosecutor stated that Bodhisattwa Das, the former branch manager of United Commercial Bank (UCB) in Dharmanagar, was fatally stabbed by four individuals, Sukanta Biswas, Sumit Chowdhary, Sumit Banik, and Umar Sharif, also known as Shoaib Miah on the midnight of August 3, 2019. Bodhisattwa succumbed to a knife injury shortly after being admitted to the hospital.

The matter has been proved beyond doubt.
A total of 56 witnesses provided their testimonies in court during the trial in this case, which lasted for about three years. Basu Kar and Dr. Abhijit Das are two witnesses among them, who retracted their statements.
Despite being an eyewitness, Basu Kar claimed to have seen nothing, while Dr. Abhijit Das mentioned not hearing Bodhisattwa’s statement.

Public prosecutor Samrat Kar Bhowmick said that they had been declared hostile witnesses and would face separate legal action for committing perjury.

However, expressing dissatisfaction with the verdict, senior advocate Pijush Kanti Biswas provided a different account of the events.
According to him, on the night of August 3, Bodhisattwa, Sukanta Biswas, Sumit Chowdhary, and Sumit Banik consumed alcohol near Jackson Gate and afterward, they went to a nearby location near Sharda Medical Hall. Then, Bodhisattwa urinated on the veranda of a pharmacy, which sparked objections and led to an argument among his companions.

Umar Sharif alias Shoaib Miah, arrived at the scene and joined the debate. Within a short period, Shoaib Miah took out a dagger from his pocket and stabbed Bodhisattwa five times. He was transported to the hospital by others and later passed away.

Pijush Kanti Biswas further said, “Out of the 56 witnesses, none of them implicated Sukanta Biswas, Sumit Chowdhary, and Sumit Banik in any wrongdoing. However, they did confirm that Shoaib Miah had indeed stabbed the victim, even though Bodhisattwa did not know Shoaib Miah.”

Senior advocate Biswas added, “Considering the statements of the witnesses, we had expected the accused to be acquitted, except possibly for Shoaib Miah. Therefore, the verdict comes as a surprising outcome.”
He criticized the judgment as being “highly illegal” and claimed that throughout his forty-five-year legal career, he had never encountered such a ‘grossly illegal’ judgement.
Biswas also said that he would file an appeal against this decision in the higher court to get justice.