Puri: The Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge in Puri convicted Wednesday three persons in the sensational Astaranga quadruple murder case which took place September 22, 2015.
The accused Himadri Sekhar Dash alias Rahim Khan, his wife Aisha Begum of West Midnapore in West Bengal and Fakir Mallik of Bolagarh, Khurda, were convicted under Sections 302/394/397/120-B of the IPC. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced, February 8.
The victims Dinabandhu Mallick, his wife Nirmala and two minor daughters were allegedly murdered by the accused for money.
During investigations, it came to fore that Dinabandhu’s brother-in-law Fakir had befriended Himadri during a train journey. He later introduced Himdari to the Mallick family.
Fakir chalked out a plan along with Himadri and Aisha to kill Dinabandhu and his family members. Accordingly Himadri and Aisha visited Dinabandhu’s house September 21, 2015 and stayed there for the night. They then committed the ghastly act when the family was asleep before escaping with cash and other valuables.
In October, a joint operation conducted by CID and Crime Branch led to the arrest of Himadri and Aisha from Hailakhandi in Assam. The couple confessed to their crime. The cops also recovered the stolen gold ornaments, a motorcycle and cash from the two. The investigating team had filed a chargesheet against the three accused in February 2016.
PNN/Agencies
