12 convicted for killing Bengal student

The Barasat court on Friday convicted 12 persons, including main accused Shyamal Karmakar, in connection with the murder of college student Sourav Chowdhury in Bamangachhi of North 24 Parganas.

The 21-year-old student of Mrinalini Dutta College in Birati was brutally murdered following his abduction in the early hours of July 5, 2014 because he had organised a protest against illicit hooch dens run by Shyamal, a local miscreant, in the locality.

Later, the dismembered body of Sourav was found lying on railway tracks in between Bamangachhi and Duttapukur stations, triggering a statewide uproar.

Probing the case, the police had arrested 14 accused out of 15 and chargesheeted them with the depositions of 41 witnesses in September of 2014.

Public prosecutor Biplab Roy said, “Nine accused — Shyamal Karmakar, Suman Sarkar, Suman Das, Somnath Sardar, Amal Barui, Tapas Biswas, Tarak Biswas, Rakesh Burman and Ratan Samaddar — were held guilty by seventh additional district judge Daman Prosad Biswas of Sections 364 (abduction for murder), 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intention) the Indian Penal Code (IPC).”

“Shyamal was also convicted of Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Three other accused — Shishir Mukherjee, Poly Maity, now on bail, and Ratan Das — were found guilty of Section 212 (harbouring the offenders). One accused, Anup Talukdar, was acquitted while another, Uttam Shikari, turned approver with one more accused still absconding,” he added.

The quantum of punishment will be announced by the court on Saturday. The nine convicts of murder and other severe charges may get life imprisonment as the minimum punishment or death penalty as the maximum.

Demanding death penalty for all the convicts, the victim’s kin, friends and neighbours took out a rally in the court premises. Sourav’s father said, “We want all the convicts be hanged.”