According to Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee, the accused Ranjit Mandi had killed the woman over a relationship and lived in the same village as her.

Ranjit, who is in his 30s, was convicted under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, along with a fine of Rs 6,000, with a default provision of simple imprisonment of six months.

On April 18, 2023, the deceased, Purnima Mandi, had gone to graze her goats in a nearby paddy field when Ranjit approached her and stabbed her multiple times. She was rushed to Bhangagarh Regional Hospital, where the doctors declared her brought dead, the Special Public Prosecutor said.

Chatterjee said, “During the investigation, police found that Purnima’s elder daughter had caught her mother with Ranjit, in a compromising position. Purnima promised her teenage daughter that she would stop seeing Ranjit. As the victim started distancing herself from Ranjit, the latter became resentful toward her.”

Two days after her death, Purnima’s husband Prasenjit Mandi (35) filed a complaint at the local police station in Sankrail. Later, an FIR was registered naming Ranjit, he said.

“The police had also found a shirt button on the crime scene which fell during a scuffle between the victim and the accused.”

“The charges in the case were framed in January 2024, after which the evidence was recorded on February 16. Nineteen prosecution witnesses were examined, including four who testified via video conferencing. The recording of the evidence concluded on March 7. Subsequently, the statement of the accused was recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). On April 26, the court heard the arguments of the prosecution and defence. After hearing the detailed arguments presented by both sides, the trial court declared the accused guilty under sections 302/201 of the IPC,” Chatterjee said.

(Taniya Acherjee is an intern at the Kolkata office of The Indian Express)