One sentenced to death, life imprisonment to 24 in Assam for lynching a doctor in a tea estate

One tea garden worker was sentenced to death and 24 others were given life imprisonment by a court in Assam on Tuesday for lynching a 73-year-old doctor serving at a tea estate last year.

The court of Jorhat district and sessions judge pronounced the judgment a week after it convicted 25 suspects including the prime accused, Sanjoy Rajowar.

The doctor, Deben Dutta, who served in the dispensary of Teok Tea Estate in eastern Assam's Jorhat district after his retirement was attacked by a mob on August 31 last year. The mob alleged that he was not in the dispensary when a patient died.

The gruesome killing of the doctor triggered outrage across Assam with many taking to the streets demanding strictest punishment to the accused and in less time.

The probe was conducted by a special investigation team headed by Siva Prasad Ganjala, deputy inspector general (Eastern Range) which concluded

the case in a record time of 21 days and filed an elaborate 602 page chargesheet on September 21 last year.

The doctor's family expressed relief saying the judgment pronounced in a little over one year provided them justice. "We are grateful to the police and the court and all who stood behind us to get justice. We hope the judgment will keep many more away from doing such a heinous act," the doctor's wife, Aparajita Dutta told reporters in Jorhat after the judgment.

The convicts' families, however, said they would move Gauhati High Court soon challenging the judgment.