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Former Crime Branch IG Arun Bothra on Thursday described the 2018 Patnagarh parcel bomb case as "the most complicated" case in his career after a court sentenced Punjilal Meher, a college lecturer, to life imprisonment for the deadly blast that killed two and injured one.
Speaking to ANI, Bothra, who supervised the case back in 2018 laid out the details. "...It was the most complicated case of my life. The incident was like that - just days after the wedding of Soumyasekhar Sahu, the couple received a parcel at their residence in Patnagarh. When Soumyasekhar opened the gift, only for a powerful explosion to rip through the room. The blast killed Soumyasekhar, his grandmother, and left his wife injured," Arun Bothra said. "Punjilal Meher was a lecturer at the college where Soumyasekhar's mother was a principal, and he had held a longstanding grudge against Soumyasekhar's mother as he had the ambition to be the principal there. That's the reason he committed this crime... He made the bomb by using YouTube videos...," he further said. The former Crime Branch IG expressed satisfaction that the accused has been convicted in the case. "It was a blind murder case and very challenging, but we are happy and satisfied that the Crime Branch successfully cracked the case and secured a conviction," Arun Bothra said. The explosion occurred on February 23, 2018, at the residence of Rabindra Kumar Sahoo in Brahmapura, Patnagarh. Just days after Soumyasekhar Sahu's wedding, a parcel disguised as a gift arrived at his home and detonated, killing him and his grandmother, and leaving his wife, Reema Sahu, seriously injured. The case was initially registered as Patnagarh Police station and was later transferred to the Crime Branch. Anil Kumar Dash led the investigation, then Additional SP of the Crime Branch, under Bothra's supervision. Investigators collected circumstantial, scientific, electronic, discovery, and identification parade evidence. Punjilal Meher was charged under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act. The prosecution presented 62 witnesses, 100 documents, and 51 material objects in court. The defense presented three witnesses and eight documents. After hearing both sides, the court found Punjilal Meher guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC with a fine of Rs 50,000, ten years rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 20,000 fine under Section 307 IPC, seven years rigorous imprisonment with a Rs 10,000 fine under Section 201 IPC, life imprisonment with a Rs 50,000 fine under Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, and rigorous imprisonment with a Rs 10,000 fine under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act. Special Public Prosecutor C.R. Kanungo conducted the prosecution, while Advocate Pramod Kumar Mishra represented the defense. Bijaya Kumar Mallick, Additional SP CB, was the prosecution's Head Investigating Officer. (ANI)
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