Two get 14-year RI for acid attack on woman in Jagatsinghpur

BHUBANESWAR/JAGATSINGHPUR: A sensational case involving acid attack on a woman in Jagatsinghpur district in 2009, whose probe was hushed up and shut by the police then for lack of evidence, has ended up in the conviction of the accused.
The additional district and sessions court (women's court) of Jagatsinghpur on Monday awarded 14 years of rigorous imprisonment to Santosh Bedanta, 39, a former soldier, and his friend, Anil alias Biswajit Dalasingh Ray, 32, for throwing acid on Pramodini Roul.She was 17 at the time of the incident. It took place at Kanakapura village under the Tirtol police station in Jagatsinghpur on May 4, 2009.
Police said Bedanta allegedly committed the offence after Roul turned down his plea for marriage. She suffered severe burn injuries, loss of eyesight and has since been living in trauma. After a surgery in Chennai in September 2017, she regained partial vision in her left eye.
Though the Tirtol police had then registered a case, they had made little headway in the investigation and had abruptly shut the case in 2012 citing lack of proof. No arrests were made.
The acid attack survivor saw a ray of hope for justice when the then SP of Jagatsinghpur, J N Pankaj, moved a court in August 2017, seeking the reopening of the case for reinvestigation. "We had found solid evidence against the main accused, Bedanta and his aide, Ray," said Pankaj, who is now DIG of the STF and EOW of the crime branch.
'Wish they were awarded life term'
The court of subdivisional judicial magistrate in Jagatsinghpur had issued a NBW against the accused," added Pankaj.
Bedanta was then posted in Kupwara district in Jammu & Kashmir. The Odisha Police took the help of the army and the Jammu & Kashmir Police to gather details of Bedanta. The accused had fled from Jammu and Kashmir and taken shelter in Kolkata from where he was arrested on November 26, 2017. His friend Ray was arrested in Nayagarh district on the same day.
CM Naveen Patnaik had taken a serious note of the shoddy investigation by the police officers after the registration of the case in May 2009 and its closure in 2012. Naveen had on November 30, 2017 suspended the then Jagatsinghpur DSP, R K Jena, and inspector-in-charge of Tirtol police station, Sankarsan Dalai, for gross negligence and dereliction of duty.
Roul, however, would have wanted a more stringent punishment for the accused. "I honour the court's verdict. But I wish they were awarded life imprisonment," she said.
She has been fighting for the rights and welfare of acid attack survivors since she got married last year. "The scars given by the accused to me will remain with me till my death. But the accused will be released after 14 years. Such accused should have been sentenced to life imprisonment. I will consult with lawyers and see if we can move an upper court, seeking stringent punishment for the accused," Roul told media persons.