Seven Convicted in Murder of Trinamool Leader Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Kolkata, July 29: A district court in West Bengal’s Hooghly district sentenced seven individuals to life imprisonment on Wednesday. They were found guilty in the murder case of a local Trinamool Congress leader that occurred seven years ago in Bandel.

The sessions court judge in Chinsurah convicted the seven defendants for the murder of Dilip Ram, a Trinamool Congress leader, on June 29, 2019, near Bandel railway station. The same judge handed down the life sentences on Wednesday.

The convicted individuals include Mohammad Naseem alias Guddu, Saddam Hussain, Mangal Yadav, Baijnath Roy alias Hedeck, Mohammad Akbar, Mohammad Shanu, and Mohammad Manu. All seven have been remanded to judicial custody.

Government lawyer Shankar Gangopadhyay stated that the investigating officer, Pradeep Da, filed the charge sheet within 90 days. Gangopadhyay further noted that statements from 39 witnesses were recorded. The court established that the accused conspired to murder Dilip Ram. Testimonies from four eyewitnesses were presented, and a bullet recovered from Dilip’s head was matched with the weapon found with the convicted individuals.

Reports indicate that Dilip Ram’s murder stemmed from a land dispute involving local drug mafia figure Samundri Yadav alias Shakuntala Devi. Shakuntala Devi allegedly hired contract killers to eliminate Dilip Ram, paying them 300,000 rupees.

The assassins monitored the Bandel station’s platform number 5 daily, where the victim worked at a railway office in Naihati. On June 29, 2019, as Dilip Ram was boarding a train, he was shot dead on the railway tracks.

Speaking to the media after the sentencing, Ram’s wife, Neetu, expressed that she would have preferred the death penalty for the seven convicts. However, she expressed satisfaction with the police investigation and the prosecution’s efforts in court. The main accused, Shakuntala Devi, and her son remain at large.

The government lawyer confirmed that a charge sheet has been filed against both individuals. Their trial will commence as soon as they are apprehended.