Protest in Kolkata over HC’s relief to 3 convicts in Kamduni rape, murder
The 20-year-old college student was on her way home in 2013 when she was raped and murdered by the six men
KOLKATA: Hundreds of people took out a procession in Kolkata on Tuesday against the Calcutta high court order that set aside death sentences for three of the six convicts in the 2013 gang rape and murder of a 20-year-old college student on the outskirts of Kolkata.
A Calcutta high court division bench comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Ajay Kumar Gupta commuted the death sentences of the main accused Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali to life imprisonment and acquitted a third accused sentenced to death, Amin Ali.
The victim, a second-year undergraduate student, was returning home in Kamduni, around 25 km to the north of Kolkata, after appearing in her college exams on June 7, 2013, when she was dragged to a desolate farm and raped. Her mutilated body was found by local residents the next morning, sparking protests.
The high court verdict came on an appeal filed by the convicts against the January 2016 judgment of sessions judge Sanchita Sarkar that prescribed the death penalty for the three accused. Three other convicts, Sheikh Imanul Islam, Aminur Islam and Bhola Naskar, who were sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment by the sessions court, were released by the division bench against a bail bond of ₹10,000 each as they had already served the period behind bars. On Monday, they walked out of the Presidency correctional home in Kolkata.
West Bengal’s criminal investigation department (CID), which probed the crime, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court order. Some prominent intellectuals and residents of Kamduni accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of taking the case lightly.
“The Calcutta high court judges observed that vital evidences were missing. The state government is now trying to show its concern by moving the Supreme Court,” painter Samir Aich, who took part in the protests in the heart of Kolkata, said.
Pradip Mukherjee, a teacher from Kamduni who stood by the victim’s family for 10 years, said: “We have contacted some lawyers in Delhi. We will file a separate petition challenging the high court order.”
The Kamduni crime triggered an uproar in Bengal a decade ago and revived memories of the 2012 gang rape of a young woman in a Delhi bus.
Mousumi Koyal and Tumpa Koyal, who were close friends of the victim, campaigned for justice for their friend after the brutal crime. They also led Tuesday’s procession that sought justice for their friend.
“The state’s petition before the Supreme Court is nothing but a drama. This government and the CID have betrayed our trust. Now, we have no option but to move the Supreme Court on our own,” Mousumi Koyal said.
