Cuttack: After taking him on a six-day remand, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch on Friday began the interrogation of Punjilal Meher, the prime accused in the sensational Patnagarh parcel gift blast case, at its headquarters here.
The explosion in a house at Bholanathpada in Patnagarh of Odisha’s Balangir district on February 23 had claimed two lives, including that of the bridegroom. The bride was seriously injured in the incident.
Efforts are on by the state investigating agency to collect all evidence to ascertain how and why he had committed the heinous crime.
Sources said the CB SIT has begun the process of restoring data in the laptop and mobile phone of Punjilal, which he had deleted.
Following his arrest on April 25, Director General of Police (DGP) Dr RP Sharma had described him as a ‘lone wolf’.
He said the English lecturer of Jyoti Bikash College, Bhainsa, had decided to go it alone with his plan to eliminate the family of Sanjukta Sahu. He had become vindictive after she replaced him as the principal of the college.
To avoid any suspicion, Punjilal had attend the marriage reception of her son, Soumyasekhar, and also blessed the newly-wed couple. He had even gone to the house to console the bereaved parents after the death of their son.
Congratulations to the CID-CB team for the efficiency with which investigation was conducted & the parcel bomb case brought to closure. It is indeed a moment of professional pride for @odisha_police. The loss of the family cannot be recovered but justice has been ensured https://t.co/Sat8d2duja
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) April 27, 2018
He has been charged under Sections 302 and 307 of IPC and the Explosive Offences Act.
The CB had picked up Punjilal from his house at Meherpada on April 22 for interrogation in connection with the case.
As informed by the IG, Crime Branch, Arun Bothra, he prepared the bomb after learning the technique from the Internet. After conducting a series of experiments, he finally succeeded in his plan.
