11 get death for killing woman to grab her land

A district court in Bengal on Thursday sentenced 11 people to death, including a former Trinamool Congress leader, for murdering a woman to grab her land in November 2014.

The guilty verdict in the case, one of the fastest disposals in recent times, was passed on Wednesday and the quantum of punishment was announced on Thursday.

Aparna Bag, the 38-year-old housewife, was killed when she tried to prevent the men from grabbing her land in November 23, 2014 at Krishnaganj in Nadia district, around 120 km from Kolkata. Aparna was shot to death when she tried to stop the men from taking over her land. The men were led by prime accused Lankeshwar Ghosh, who claimed to be a Trinamool leader. Trinamool leadership, however, denied Ghosh’s claim and said he was not a member of the party.

Besides Lankeshwar, others sentenced to death include Palash Ghosh, Sanat Ghosh, Shyamal Ghosh, Jhantu Ghosh, Goutam Ghosh, Paresh Ghosh, Joydeb Ghosh, Nepal Ghosh, Rajkumar Ghosh, and Basu Ghosh. All men were found guilty of murder under Section 302 of the India Penal Code, besides Sections 27 and 35 of the Arms Act and Section 9B of the Explosives Act. The police said that a manhunt is on for Manabesh Biswas, an accused who has been absconding since 2014.

Aparna was killed when Ghosh and his gang tried to take control of the land, originally owned by the state refugee & refugee rehabilitation department. The 55 families that inhabit the land migrated from Bangladesh in 1971 and have been tilling it for decades. They claimed ownership via land deeds they had received from the government. On the morning of November 23, 2014, Ghosh and his men arrived on a tractor and tried to capture the land by force. When they faced resistance from the inhabitant families, they opened fire, injuring three women and a youth.

Bag, who sustained bullet injuries to her chest and head, was taken to the district in Nadia, but was declared dead on arrival. The other two women who suffered injuries, Shyamali Tarafdar and Latika Tarafdar, along with 19-year-old Rajiv Mondal, recovered after surgeries.

Local resident Dipankar Biswas lodged a formal complaint against 12 men but only 11 were arrested. The deceased’s daughters, Devika and Nilima, served as prime witnesses in the case.