KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday acquitted a capital punishment awardee and commuted the death sentence of two others to life imprisonment over the gang rape and murder of a 21-year-old college student at Kamduni in North 24 Parganas, an incident that shook West Bengal 10 years ago.
A Barasat court had sentenced three convicts to death, while three others got life imprisonment for the incident on June 7, 2013, when the victim was returning home on a rainy day after appearing for an examination.
The state government decided to move the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s verdict. Hearing the order, the brother of the victim fell unconscious on the premises of the court.
In 2016, the lower court had awarded capital punishment to Amin Ali, Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali while Imanul Islam, Aminul Islam and Bhola Naskar were sentenced to life imprisonment. A division bench comprising justice Joymalya Bagchi and Ajay Kumar Gupta acquitted Amin Ali and commuted the death sentence of Saiful and Ansar to imprisonment till the end of their natural life.
The bench acquitted Imanul, Aminul and Bhola of the changes of gang rape and convicted them for criminal conspiracy and causing disappearance of evidence.
Mentioning the three have already suffered incarceration for more than 10 years since their arrest and their conviction prescribes a maximum of seven years imprisonment, the court directed that they will be set free upon payment of Rs 10,000 fine each, in default, of which they will undergo simple imprisonment for three more months.
Family members of the victim expressed their unhappiness following the high court’s order. “We are scared of our security as three of the accused have been acquitted by the court,” said one of the two brothers of the victim.
The incident shook the state and chief minister Mamata Banerjee had visited the area and met the victim’s family members. She had also promised exemplary punishment of the suspects.
The victim was dragged inside a warehouse in the area dotted by fisheries when she was talking on the phone along the road. There was no one around her as it was raining.