Nine sentenced to death in Odisha triple murder case

Nine persons were awarded death sentence in a superstition-related triple murder case, by a sessions court at Gunupur in Odisha’s Rayagada district on Friday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Subhendu Kumar Pati awarded death penalty to the nine convicts after examining 11 witnesses and other evidence of the prosecution. The murders were committed on September 9, 2016 at Kitung village under Talana panchayat of Gunupur block. The deceased were members of a single family of the village.

Speaking to The Hindu, public prosecutor Krushna Chandra Senapati said 10 persons including a juvenile were arrested in connection with the triple murder. The trial against the juvenile is still on.

The court considered it to be the rarest of rare murder as the convicts had tortured and killed the victims in cold blood, said Mr. Senapati. Following some deaths and ailments in this remote village, the superstitious inhabitants of Kitung had blamed them on ‘sorcery’ by the victim family.

On the day of the crime, they had abducted and restrained four members of the targeted family including Asin Sabar (55), his wife Ambae Sabar (50), their two daughters Asamani Sabara (25) and Melita Sabar in a cowshed. Before the eyes of Melita, her parents and elder sister were tortured. Pesticide solution was injected into Asin, Ambae and Asamani. When they became unconscious the assailants buried them alive in a pit inside the forest near Kitung. The next day they took out the bodies and burnt them using kerosene to destroy evidence.

The killers had threatened Melita and her two brothers against complaining about the killings to the police or face dire consequences. They were not allowed to go out of the village. But Melita managed to reach Putasingh police station on September 16, 2016 to complain about the murder of her parents and sister. Police investigation had led to the arrest of 10 persons.

According to Mr. Senapati, in this case Melita was the key eyewitness.

Defence counsel U.C. Patnaik said his clients will surely move the High Court against the verdict.