33 yrs after murder, slain Tripura MLA's family gets justice

Justice was delayed for long 33 years, but finally the family members of former Congress MLA from Tripura, Primal Saha, perhaps got some solace when the verdict was delivered in his sensational murder case.

Saha was murdered 33 years ago. Tripura’s longest pending and most sensational political murder case - which dragged on with inconclusive trial for 33 years came to end on Saturday with a court convicting the assailants. The court awarded life sentence to 12 accused against whom charges of murder, conspiracy and abetment were established.

Initially 24 people were chargesheeted but seven of them have since died while one accused absconded and five were acquitted.

It was only after the intervention of the Tripura High Court, that the district court reopened the case early this year following a suo motu directive of Chief Justice of High Court of Tripura Deepak Kumar Gupta, who asked the lower court to complete the judicial process of the sensational murder case in a fast track court. A special public prosecutor was appointed to speed up the trial by the HC.

This sensational murder case took place on April 7 of 1983. Parimal Saha, the then sitting Congress legislator from Charilam Assembly constituency in Tripura, and his cousin Jitendra Saha had been hacked to death by a group of CPM cadres, at Office Tilla under Bishalgarh police station, 33km south of state capital Agartala.

The police in its investigation had found that the murder took place due to political rivalry. “The incident is 33 years old of 1983, April 7. In broad day light Parimal Saha and Jiten Saha were murdered by 12 those who have been convicted today (on Sunday) and also the five others who have been acquitted. Hence we are again going to appeal in the higher court,” Motilal Saha, former Tripura Minister and younger brother of Parimal Saha told Deccan herald over telephone from Agartala.

Additional District and Sessions Judge, west Tripura, Satya Brata Dutta pronounced the verdict in a jam-packed court with public and security force and media persons.