Orissa HC Grants 4-Day Interim Bail To Patnagarh Parcel Blast Accused; Know Why

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court here on Wednesday granted interim conditional bail to Punjilal Meher, the alleged mastermind of 2018 Patnagarh parcel bomb blast, to perform the post-funeral rites of his mother.

He has been granted bail for four days from January 24 to January 28.  The court has barred him from speaking to mediapersons during this period.

His mother Indumati Meher was suffering from cancer and breathed her last on January 10.

Punjilal was out of the jai, where he is lodged for last two years, on parole for a day to perform the last rites of his mother on January 12 after being granted permission by a local court. He had then attempted to speak to media.

Notably, Punjilal, a lecturer at Jyoti Vikash Junior College at Bhainsa near Patnagarh, was arrested by  Crime Branch April 25, 2018, in the parcel bomb blast case in which a newly-married techie Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his grandmother Jemamani Sahu were killed. Soumya Sekhar’s wife Reema sustained serious injuries in the incident, which took place on February 23, 2018.

Investigation revealed that Punjilal plotted and executed the murder after he developed a rivalry with Soumya’s mother, who replaced him as principal of the college.