Bhubaneswar: The verdict in the high-profile Patnagarh parcel bomb case in Odisha’s Balangir is set to be delivered on May 28.
The Additional District Judge (ADJ), Patnagarh, on Wednesday reserved the judgment after concluding the final hearing during which accused Punjilal Meher and his wife were present.
The defence had presented physical evidence in the case on May 3, following which the court proceeded with final arguments from both the prosecution and defence. The prosecution had submitted 62 physical evidence, according to sources.
The Supreme Court had earlier instructed that a final verdict in the 2018 murder case must be delivered before June 17.
The case dates back to February 23, 2018, when newly-married Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his grandmother, Jemamani, were killed after a wedding gift received through courier exploded at their house in Patnagarh. Soumya’s wife Reema Rani also sustained critical injuries in the explosion.
Police investigation revealed that the gift box was delivered by a courier from Raipur via Sambalpur and weighed 2.1 kg.
The Odisha Crime Branch arrested Meher on April 24, 2018. He is accused of orchestrating the attack due to a dispute with Soumya’s mother, Sanjukta, who had succeeded him at Jyoti Vikash College, Bhainsa.