Jajpur: Seventeen people were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court on Thursday in connection with the killing of a couple on suspicion of practising sorcery in Odisha’s Jajpur district in 2020.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge of Jajpur, Hrusikesh Acharya convicted the 17 persons awarded the jail term for the murder of the couple at Nimapali village under the jurisdiction of Kalinganagar Police Station in the district.
The court pronounced its verdict after examining as many as 20 witnesses and other evidence to the case, according to public prosecutor Rajat Kumar Rout.
As per the case records, some villagers had stormed the house of Shaila Balamuj and Sambari Balmuj at Nimapali village in Kalinganagar area during the late hours of July 7, 2020 and attacked them on suspicion of practising sorcery.
After brutally attacking the couple, the intruders set the house on fire. Both the man and his wife were charred to death in the incident.
The police had registered a case in connection with the incident and arrested as many as 17 villagers for their involvement in the crime.
The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 on each of the convicts.
