KOLKATA: In a blow to CPM before the impending panchayat elections, 18 CPM workers and leaders were awarded life sentence by Burdwan district court on Wednesday after they were found guilty of murdering two Trinamool Congress workers in Purba Burdwan’s Jamalpur in 2010.
Apart from life term, Additional district judge Sheikh Mohammad Reza also fined Rs 10,000 each to the 18 convicts failing which they will have to serve three more months of jail.
The accused are Milan Malik, Manoj Malik, Jhantu Malik, Sudeb Malik, Bikash Malik, Lakhiram Soren, Ram Mandi, Sarojit Majhi, Sujit Majhi, Kartik Majhi, Biswanath Dolui, Ujjwal Santra, Kamal Porel, Jayanta Porel, Ashanta Porel, Habal Santra, Uday Majhi and Ranjit Majhi of Ujirpur, Reshalatpur and Muidipur villages of Jamalpur.
During the final days of the Left Front rule, the convicts had kidnapped Isha Haq Malik (54) of Amarpur village and Panchu Das (62) of Ujirpur village and lynched them near Mundeswari river on September 14, 2010. Some 17 injury marks, including stuck arrows, were found in the bodies of the two victims during autopsy.
A total of 16 people, including deceased Panchu Das’ nephew Prabir Das recorded their statements as witnesses in the case.
While convict Milan Malik were found to have led the accused in the murders, convict Habal Santra was even made candidate in the upcoming panchayat election from deceased Isha Haq Malik’s Amarpur village. Defense counsel Swapan Bandopadhyay stated that he would appeal at the Calcutta High Court against the judgment of the lower court.