Siliguri, 25th April: After an 11-year-long legal battle, the Siliguri Court has sentenced two individuals, identified as Surendra Kumar Mishra and Abhijit Bose, to life imprisonment in a brutal double murder case. Additionally, a woman named Monica Mishra, involved in the incident, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment.
Earlier, on January 8, 2013, Ganga Bhushan Rathi and Chandra Prakash Jurel, both from Nepal, visited Siliguri. On January 11, Harivansh Rathi, son of Ganga Bhushan Rathi, received a call informing him of their kidnapping and a demand for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. Despite paying the ransom, the kidnappers did not release them, prompting Harivansh Rathi to file a complaint with the Siliguri police.
Following investigations, aided by mobile tower locations, and cooperation from Bolpur police, two kidnappers, Surendra Kumar Mishra and Abhijit Bose, were arrested from the Darjeeling mail train. Significantly, they confessed to committing the crime during interrogation, leading to the recovery of the bodies from the Sukna forest on February 2.
Further evidence, including the recovery of a beaded necklace belonging to Ganga Bhushan Rathi from the residence of accused Surendra Mishra, implicated Mishra, his wife Monica Mishra, Abhijeet Bose, and another accused, Rajiv Roy.
On Thursday, after about 11 years of legal proceedings, Judge Anita Malhotra of the Additional District Sessions First Court sentenced Surendra Kumar Mishra and Abhijit Bose to life imprisonment. Monica Mishra was sentenced to six months of rigorous imprisonment due to health issues, while Rajiv Roy was acquitted for lack of evidence linking him to the murders.