Sourav Chowdhury Murder – 12 Accused Held As Guilty

Kolkata: On Friday, 12 out of the 14 accused in the Sourav Chowdhury murder case were held guilty by the Barasat Court.

Sourav, a 21-year-old second-year student of Mrinalini Dutta College in Birati, was killed for protesting against running hooch den near his house at Bamungachi in North 24-Parganas on July 5, 2014. Pieces of his body were found on railway tracks in between Duttapukur and Bamungachi railway stations.

Prime accused Shyamal Karmakar and others including Suman Sarkar, Suman Das, Somnath Sardar, Tarak Das, Amal Barui, Tapas Biswas, Ratan Samaddar, Rakesh Burman, etc. were held guilty by court under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPS) on charges of murder (302 IPC), kidnapping in order to murder (364 IPC), tampering of evidence (364 IPC) and Criminal Conspiracy (120 (B)). 

Sourav’s family members said a section of Trinamool leaders had tried to concoct a story about a relationship gone wrong as the motive for his murder. When that failed, they allegedly pressured the family to endorse their claim that the victim was their own.

Trinamool leaders had held a series of meetings in Bamangachhi after Sourav’s murder triggered outrage in the area. They described him as a party supporter who had been killed by some local hooligans. Fearing a backlash, Trinamool leader Mukul Roy had visited Sourav’s house a week after the murder riding pillion on a motorcycle with a full-mask helmet cloaking his identity. He didn’t take the main road, opting for a 2km detour to reach Sourav’s house.

“I demand capital punishment of all the accused,” Sourav’s father said adding that every one of his family and the area is waiting for Saturday when the court will announce the quantum of punishment. Sourav's family said they wanted to see the guilty being sent to the gallows. “But we are scared because of Anup Talukdar's acquittal,” his brother Sandip said. “He might try to take revenge on us for the time he had to spend behind the bars,” he added.