Reported by Mrinal Kanti Banik
Agartala: Three individuals, including a woman, have been convicted in separate cases involving drug trafficking, child sexual abuse and murder by courts in Tripura. The courts handed down sentences ranging from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to life imprisonment, police said.
In the first case, the Special Judge’s Court in Dharmanagar, North Tripura district, convicted Sijarul SK, a resident of Murshidabad in West Bengal, under Section 20(B)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional two years of rigorous imprisonment.
The case stems from an incident on November 15, 2022, when police personnel conducting vehicle checks at the Churaibari Naka Gate on National Highway-8 intercepted a 12-wheeler truck heading towards Assam. During the search, officers recovered 84 bundles of ganja weighing 560.6 kg concealed inside the cabin and on the roof of the vehicle. Following the investigation, a chargesheet was filed on August 31, 2023.
In another case, the District and Sessions Judge’s Court in Udaipur, Gomati district, sentenced Adhir Chandra Das to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000.
Additionally, Das was convicted under Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal intimidation and awarded one year of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1,000. Both sentences will run concurrently. The case originated from a complaint lodged at the R.K. Pur Women Police Station in 2021 and the chargesheet was submitted on September 30 of the same year.
In a separate murder case, the Additional District Judge’s Court in Kamalpur, Dhalai district, sentenced 26-year-old Jhuma Marar to life imprisonment for killing her husband. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, with an additional two months of simple imprisonment in case of default.
According to police, the victim’s father, Mahesh Marar, filed a complaint after his son, Mohan Marar, 27, was found dead on his bed at his residence on May 28, 2023. The complainant alleged that Jhuma Marar had strangled her husband, citing a dark mark found on the victim’s neck. After completing the investigation, Kamalpur Police Station submitted the chargesheet on November 30, 2023.