By Firstdespatch Desk May 26, 2026
Agartala, May 26 (FD) The High Court of Tripura on Tuesday acquitted two of the four persons earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the 2019 murder of young UCO Bank manager Bodhisattwa Das in Dharmanagar in Tripura’s North district.
The two acquitted accused are Sumit Chowdhury, son of a jewellery businessman, and Sumit Banik. However, the life sentence awarded to the main accused, hardened criminal Sahid Miah, had already been upheld earlier by the High Court. Another accused, traffic police sub-inspector Sukanta Biswas, reportedly did not challenge the conviction before the High Court.
According to court, the incident took place on the night of August 4, 2019, when Bodhisattwa Das was allegedly called from his Ram Nagar residence by the four accused to the Jackson Gate area here for a discussion. During the meeting, an altercation reportedly broke out among the group.
Sources said Bodhisattwa attempted to intervene and pacify the situation, but in a sudden turn of events, Sahid Miah allegedly attacked him with a broken bottle, inflicting a grievous injury to his abdomen. The young banker collapsed on the spot and was later shifted to GBP Hospital by local residents.
Before losing consciousness, Bodhisattwa reportedly gave a statement to police officers who had reached the hospital after being informed of the incident. He was subsequently shifted to Kolkata for advanced treatment, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Following the incident, police arrested all four accused named by the victim in his statement. After a prolonged trial spanning nearly four years, the District and Sessions Court in June 2023 convicted all four and sentenced them to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000 each.
The appeals filed by Sumit Chowdhury and Sumit Banik against the trial court verdict were argued by advocates B.N. Majumder and Subrata Sarkar.
The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Justices T. Amarnath Goud and Sabyasachi Datta Purkayastha, which on Tuesday set aside the conviction of the two appellants and acquitted them of all charges.
Senior advocate, Subrata Sarkar, who fought the case in the high court expressed satisfaction over the judgment, stating that “true justice has been delivered” by the Division Bench in the case. FD JK