Bengal court sentences three to life imprisonment in murder of Trinamool councillor

Kolkata, Dec 17 A Barrackpore court in West Bengal on Wednesday sentenced Sanjib a.k.a. Bapi Pandit, Amit Pandit and Ziarul Mandal to life imprisonment in the murder case of Panihati’s Trinamool Congress councillor Anupam Dutta. The court also fined each of them Rs 1 lakh.

On Monday, the court had convicted the three accused.

The deceased's family expressed satisfaction with the verdict.

Anupam Dutta's wife and fellow Trinamool Congress councillor, Meenakshi Dutta, thanked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her support.

She became the councillor of Ward No. 8 of Panihati after her husband's murder.

Meenakshi Dutta said: "My husband will not come back. Only we know how we are spending our days in his absence. My mother-in-law fell ill after her son’s death. She was in a coma for three years. Today, the culprits have been punished. I respect the honourable court."

She further said: "We had demanded the death penalty. But the culprits have been sentenced to life imprisonment. None of us are above the law. However, if this case goes to the Calcutta High Court, we will fight there as well. We will demand punishment for them."

On the other hand, the three convicts, while being escorted out of the court under police protection, claimed they had been framed.

It may be recalled that on March 13, 2022, Anupam Dutta was shot while getting onto his scooter on Agarpara Station Road near his home in North 24 Parganas district. He was shot at close range by an assailant.

The then Trinamool Congress councillor of Ward No. 8 of Panihati Municipality died on the spot.

That same night, the police arrested one of the accused, Amit Pandit. Later, Bapi Pandit and Ziarul Mandal were arrested. Bapi Pandit was later released on bail.

Sources said that during the investigation into Anupam Dutta's murder, detectives from the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate learned that Bapi Pandit had allegedly given the contract for the murder. It was also revealed that another criminal had initially been given the contract to kill Anupam Dutta.

However, when that person failed to carry out the task, Amit Pandit was allegedly hired after the municipal elections.

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