CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Punjilal Meher, alleged mastermind and executioner of Patnagarh parcel bomb blast case. Granting the bail to attend the funeral rites of his mother from January 24 to 28 against two sureties of Rs 50,000, Justice SK Sahoo imposed restrictions on Punjilal’s interaction with media during the period.
The former English lecturer of Jyoti Bikash College in Bhainsa has been in jail for the last two years since his arrest in the parcel bomb explosion case on April 25, 2018. The explosion had killed newly-married Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his grandmother while grievously injuring his bride Reema.
Punjilal had developed rivalry with his colleague and Sekhar’s mother Sanjukta Sahu, who replaced him as the college’s principal.
To take revenge, he is alleged to have sent a parcel bomb as a wedding gift for her son on February 23, 2018. While opening the parcel, the bomb exploded killing Sekhar and his grandmother on the spot.