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5h ago

Dhemaji Court Sentences Rintu Sarma to Death for 2021 Murder of Student Nandita Saikia

The judge said the premeditated machete attack met the "rarest of rare" threshold, triggering a death sentence that will face High Court scrutiny.

Image
Representative Image (IANS)
Rintu Sarma was a class 4 employee of Moridhal College (Getty Images/Vetta)

Overview

  • Judge Ajay Faglu of the Dhemaji District and Sessions Court handed down the death sentence a day after conviction, a decision now headed for Gauhati High Court review.
  • Sarma was found guilty under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 324/326 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons) after the court concluded he killed Saikia for rejecting his marriage proposal.
  • The court described the attack as premeditated and “rarest of rare,” ruling that life imprisonment would not satisfy the ends of justice.
  • Concurrent punishments were imposed: 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine under Section 307, and three years and a Rs 5,000 fine under Section 324, with default jail terms for nonpayment.
  • Police filed a 400-page chargesheet and 41 witnesses testified during the four-year trial, which examined the August 21, 2021 assault that also injured Saikia’s friend Kashmina Dutta and her father.