The District and Session court of West Tripura district on Saturday afternoon pronounced life imprisonment to all four accused and imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 each for the brutal killing of bank manager Bodhisatya Das in August, 2019 last.

After three years and 10 months, the sensational murder of the bank manager Budhisatya Das in the midnight of August 3rd, 2019 last in Agartala, the District and Session court of West Tripura district on Friday (June 2^nd, 2023) found all of them guilty and reserved its verdict.

According to prosecution lawyer Samrat Kar Bhowmik, the District and Session Judge of West Tripura District, Subhasish Sharma Roy convicted Sumit Bank, Sumit Chowdhury, Sukanta Biswas and Omar Sharif alias Shoaib Miah for murdering bank manager on the intervening night of August 3-4 in 2019.

The trial in the case continued for over three years and altogether witnesses of 56 people were recorded by the court.

Among the four convicted persons, Sukanta Biswas was a traffic police Inspector, while two others were traders and Shoaib Miah, was the known anti-social of Agartala city, who stabbed Budhisatya.

"Of the 56 witnesses, two -- Basu Kar, and Dr. Abhijit Das Gupta of GBP hospital's trauma centre, turned hostile. Separate proceedings would be undertaken against them for bearing false witness," said advocate Kar Bhowmik.

On Saturday also defence lawyer and senior advocate Pijush Kanti Biswas, expressing his unhappiness over the judgement, said that he will file an appeal against the district court's verdict before the High Court of Tripura.

After announcement of sentence, prosecutor Samrat Kar Bhowmik speaking with media persons said that Saturday is the big day of impartial judiciary and the role of Tripura state forensic laboratory and forensic laboratory of Chandigarh make it possible.

Giving details, Kar Bhowmik said that one Dr Subhankar Nath of SFL tested the dragger and a beer bottle , which had blood stains of slain bank manager and the same sample has also been matched with dragger recovered from the house of Sohaib Miah and blood stains recovered from his scooter has also matched with the blood sample of slain Bodhisatya Das, which is turning point of entire verdict.

Kar Bhowmik said they initiated separate proceedings against hostile witnesses Basu Kar and Dr Abhijit Das Gupta. He said that the prosecution team did not plead for capital punishment, but appeals for life sentences as the case is not rare among rarest. He also said that as per the judgement of Supreme Court in Dhurjadhan Rawat case of 2015, life imprisonment stands for entire life until the government will not release them.

He also slammed the comments made by senior advocate Pijush Kanti Biswas after the judgement and claimed a senior advocate cannot insult  a judge through his comments as especially the case under sub-judice. Based on media reports and video clips of Biswas, the High Court can take a contempt proceeding against Mr Biswas.

It may be recalled here that on the ill-fated night of August 3rd, 2019 after a boozing party, bank manager Budhisatya Das was stabbed by his friends with a beer bottle and a dragger and miscreants left him in blooded condition in the middle of road near Jackson Gate area of the city. Later, police and firefighters rushed to the spot and shifted the injured bank manager to GB Hospital in critical condition.

Later, the injured bank manager was referred to a Kolkata based hospital and after battling for life for the last 13 days for healing of grievous stabbing injuries, Budhisatya Das breathed his last on August 16th, 2019 morning.

Based on the FIR filed by his family members, police initially arrested two persons identified as Sumit Chowdhury, a friend of dead bank manager and a noted criminal Omar Sharif alias Sohaib.

During interrogation of both arrested accused, police recorded some startling revelation and based on the confessional statements of them, police arrested the then Traffic Police Inspector of Sukanta Biswas, who was posted at the Traffic wing of Dharmanagar and another suspected accused Sumit Banik of Jagaharimura area of Agartala in charges of murder under section 302,326, 341 and 34 of IPC. After police custody for interrogation, all four accused were shifted in jail under custodial trial.