9 yrs later, AMCH ward boy convicted in Sarita Toshniwal's murder case

DIBRUGARH: After nine years, the Dibrugarh district and sessions court on Wednesday delivered the judgement in the sensational murder case of Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) doctor, Sarita Toshniwal.
In a 152-page judgment delivered by Judge Aparna Ajitsaria, one of the two accused in the murder, Kiru Mech was convicted of the crime. The other accused, Dr Deepmoni Saikia, was, however, acquitted of all charges for lack of evidence.
Speaking to media persons outside the court, public prosecutor Shyam Dutta said, "Kiru Mech, who was a ward boy of the Assam Medical College and Hospital, has been convicted by the court. The quantum of punishment will be announced at 10.30am tomorrow. Since he has been convicted under Section 302 (murder), we are expecting the sentence to be either life imprisonment or capital punishment. However, the other accused, Dr Deepmoni Saikia was acquitted. The verdict mentioned that the prosecution bench failed to prove circumstantial evidence against Dr Deepmoni Saikia. We may appeal against the verdict in the high court."
He further said the trial of the case was carried out in the court of five judges at various points of time before the verdict was finally delivered on Wednesday.
The statements of 61 witnesses were taken during the trial of the case.
Sarita Toshniwal, a first-year post-graduate student AMCH, was found dead in her duty room at the obstetrics and gynaecology department. During the course of investigation, police had arrested Mech and Saikia, who was a batch senior to Sarita Toshniwal in connection with the murder. At that time, police had stated that the murder plan was hatched by Saikia in revenge after his one-sided love was spurned by Toshniwal.
The gruesome murder had sparked public outrage across the state. The case was later transferred to the CID.