E-Paper
Man who killed college student for rejecting his advances gets death sentence
Kashmina Dutta, who was with Nandita at the time of the attack, said the verdict had brought some closure.
SILCHAR: A Dhemaji court on Thursday sentenced a man to death for the brutal murder of college undergraduate student Nandita Saikia, who was killed with a machete on a road in 2021 because she had rebuffed his advances.
District and sessions judge Ajay Faglu awarded the death penalty to Rintu Sarma, a class 4 employee of Moridhal College, for murder, holding that this Saikia’s murder fell under the “rarest of rare” category.
Sarma was also sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and three years under Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons).
On August 21, 2021, Nandita, a student of Moridhal College, was returning home with her classmate Kashmina Dutta and Kashmina’s father, Deba Dutta, when Rintu Sarma attacked them with a machete in Dhemaji town. All three sustained grievous injuries. Nandita was later shifted to Dibrugarh but succumbed to her wounds five days later.
The police had filed a 400-page charge sheet against Sarma, and 41 witnesses were examined during the trial.
Nandita’s father expressed relief, “We waited four years for this moment. I hope higher courts uphold this judgment so no one dares to commit such a crime again,” he said.
Kashmina Dutta, who was with Nandita at the time of the attack, said the verdict had brought some closure. “The memory of that day will never fade, but today we feel justice has finally been served,” she said.
