HC orders life term in Bakkhali hotel murder case

Kolkata: Observing it did not fall under the category of “rarest of rare”, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday commuted the death sentence of Samar Patra to life imprisonment for the murder of a woman in a hotel in Bakkhali, South 24-Parganas.

The judgment was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi.

According to the prosecution, on April 11, 2018, Samar Patra checked into a hotel in Bakkhali along with the victim, Durgarani Majhi. The following morning, hotel staff found the door of room no. 5 locked from inside and reported the matter to the police.

Upon breaking open the door, police discovered Majhi lying dead on the bed, while Patra was missing. The bathroom window was found to have been tampered with, its glass removed. A written complaint was lodged by the hotel manager.

During the investigation, police recovered several items from the hotel room, including a wine bottle and a drinking glass. A fingerprint expert later confirmed the presence of Patra’s fingerprint on the glass.

The post-mortem examination revealed that the victim had died due to ligature strangulation. The autopsy surgeon confirmed that the death was ante-mortem and homicidal.

During his statement under Section 313 of the CrPC, Patra admitted that he and the victim had consumed alcohol in the room and claimed to have found her hanging.

He stated that, in fear, he escaped through the bathroom window.

While affirming the conviction under Section 302 of the IPC, the High Court observed that the case did not fall under the category of “rarest of rare” to justify the death penalty. The bench noted that Patra, aged 33, had no serious psychological issues, and there was potential for reformation.

In view of these considerations, the court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.

The correctional authorities were directed to update their records and deduct the time already served by the convict from his sentence.