- A court in Assam's Dhemaji sentenced a man to death for the brutal murder of a college student
- Rintu Sarma, an employee at Moridhal College in Dhemaji, had attacked Nandita Saikia in 2021
- The attack had also left another student, Kashmina Dutta, and her father, Deba Dutta
A court in Assam's Dhemaji on Thursday sentenced a man to death for the brutal murder of a college student in 2021.
According to officials, the man had killed the woman for refusing his marriage proposal, PTI reported.
Rintu Sarma, an employee at Moridhal College in Dhemaji, had stabbed Nandita several times with a machete near the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) bus stand in Dhemaji on August 21, 2021. Nandita sustained serious injuries and later died at a private nursing home in Dibrugarh on August 25.
The attack also left another student, Kashmina Dutta, and her father, Deba Dutta, severely injured after Sarma targeted them as well. Sarma had later surrendered to the cops.
The case underwent a four-year trial. During the proceedings, the police submitted a 400-page chargesheet. A total of 41 witnesses were examined by the prosecution.
On Wednesday, Judge Kalyanjit Saikia of the District and Sessions Court convicted Sharma under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code: Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The judge, in his order, observed that in light of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court, the (district and sessions) court was of the opinion that this "case certainly falls under the category of the rarest of rare and if life imprisonment is awarded, it would be insufficient and not meet the ends of justice. Accordingly, the convict is sentenced to death for the offence of murder under Section 302 IPC and will be hanged by neck till death'', the judge ordered, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)
