BHUBANESWAR: Days ahead of the court’s verdict in the sensational Patnagarh parcel bomb case, a video - purportedly recorded by hidden cameras - of former Crime Branch IG Arun Bothra interrogating Punjilal Meher went viral on Thursday in which the prime accused can be seen revealing the reason behind selecting specific targets of the bone-chilling crime.
The case dates back to February 23, 2018, when a parcel bomb exploded at the residence of 26-year-old software engineer Soumya Sekhar Sahu, just days after his wedding. The blast killed Soumya and his maternal grandmother Jamamani Sahu. Soumya’s wife Reema Sahu was critically injured.
In the one-hour long video, an extract of which was accessed by TNIE, Punjilal could be seen revealing that his plan was never to eliminate Sanjukta but make her suffer for life by killing son Soumya. Describing the entire process to make the killer bomb, the accused is also seen revealing that he used gun powder collected from fire crackers.
The purported video shows Punjilal explaining how he put a small broken electric light on the gun powder. He is also seen attaching a wire with the light on one end and a compressed metal spring on the other. The accused is also seen detailing how a battery was fixed in the parcel sent to Soumya’s house as a wedding gift. The process, Punjilal explains led to the explosion killing Soumya and his grandmother on the spot. In the video, Punjilal can also be seen ridiculing Bothra for raising doubts about the steps to make the bomb.
Trial in the sensational case has completed and the additional district and sessions judge court at Patnagarh in Balangir is scheduled to deliver its verdict on May 28, nearly seven years after the tragic incident.