Adhir Maiti murder case: Shambhunath Kow held guilty

Kolkata: A Judicial Magistrate court at Alipore on Thursday found former Trinamool Congress councillor Shambhunath Kow, guilty in the murder of Adhir Maiti— a member of Trinamool Congress' ward 58 committee in March 2013.

Ninth additional judicial magistrate of Alipore Sujoy Sengupta will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Monday.

It may be mentioned that on March 23, 2013, two rival groups of TMC supporters clashed over the possession of a piece of land near Dhapa off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass that resulted in the death of Maity and councillor of the ward Kow was charged with his murder.

Apart from the prime accused Kow, six others were also held guilty by the court. One of the accused Debasish Sarkar, who was accused under section 212 of IPC for providing shelter to the accused was acquitted.

Arindam Das, counsel for Kow pleaded before the court that the death of Maiti was natural and his client has nothing to do with it.

"There was no foul play in the death. Maiti had suffered a heart attack and the autopsy report corroborates that," Das said alleging that the prosecution had tried to present the case as an unnatural death.

"We are waiting for the quantum of punishment and will move a higher forum for justice," he reiterated.

Kow had been on the run since the incident and had fled to Odisha and Jharkhand to find a shelter.

He was finally arrested by the detective department of Kolkata Police from Balia district in Uttar Pradesh in April 2013.

The police had slapped murder charges against Kow in 2014 and slapped sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder)

of IPC against him.

The sleuths had slapped a case of murder against as many as 10 accused in this case. Eight persons including Kow were held while two others Niku Roy and Jyoti Roy

are still absconding.

Kow was expelled from the party soon after allegations of murder surfaced against him.