Three leaders of CPIM Belonia sub-division in Tripura received a jolt as the District and Sessions Court of South Tripura affirmed the ruling of the lower court, resulting in a two-year prison sentence for them.
The three CPIM leaders – Tapas Dutta, Trilokesh Sinha, and Babul Debnath – were found guilty of their involvement in the assault on the Belonia court during a strike – the incident took place on September 2, 2015.
The initial verdict was delivered by the Belonia lower court, where the three accused CPIM leaders were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment. Dissatisfied with the decision, the accused leaders decided to appeal against the verdict in the District Court. However, District and Sessions Court Judge Ashutosh Pandey upheld the judgment of the lower court.
The incident in question unfolded when verbal abuse and pressure were directed towards the then District and Sessions Judge, Ruhidas Pal, to close the court during a Bharat Bandh called by the Leftists. In response, the police swiftly intervened, taking suo motu action against the three accused leaders.
During the course of the investigation, the Belonia JM First Class Court presented 22 witnesses, who testified against Tapas Dutta, Trilokesh Sinha, and Babul Debnath. Investigating Officer (IO) SI Shankar Saha handled the case, and the police filed a charge sheet under Section 447/353/332/34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) before the court.
Following an intensive hearing, the court delivered its verdict. The accused were sentenced to two months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 under Section 447/34 IPC. Failure to pay the penalty would result in an additional ten days in jail. Additionally, they received a two-year rigorous imprisonment sentence under 353/34 IPC. Both sentences are to be served concurrently.
Subsequently, the three accused individually appealed for bail in the District and Sessions Court. The court consolidated the three appeals and Judge Ashutosh Pandey affirmed the judgment of the lower court.