Balasore: Three years after an acid attack killed his second wife and left three of her family members with critical burn injuries in Balasore district’s Sahadevkhunta, a special court on Friday awarded death penalty to prime accused, Chandan Rana, 35. Six co-accused were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.According to case records, on Feb 20, 2023, Rana, a resident of Nayapatana village, entered the house of his father-in-law, Kartik Singh, at Bhimpura and hurled acid at his second wife Banita, 25, and her elder sister, Barsha, 27, Barsha’s daughter, Mamali, 5, and her son, Biswajit, 4. All four of them sustained severe burn injuries. Banita, who suffered around 80% burn injuries, was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, where she succumbed to her injuries on Feb 26, 2023.
Case details revealed that Rana and Banita, both from Sahadevkhunta, were in a relationship and later got married. Banita subsequently discovered that Rana was already married and had two children from his first marriage, following which she returned to her parental home. On the day of the incident, Rana allegedly arrived at the house in Bhimpura, picked up a quarrel, and suddenly threw acid at Banita.Investigators said Rana fled the state after the attack and was eventually arrested in Kolkata on March 10, 2023. In total, seven persons were arrested during investigation, including Rana’s first wife and others accused of assisting his escape. Special police teams conducted searches across Balasore, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.Special public prosecutor Sanjay Kumar Mohanty said special judge (SC/ST court) Abdul Samim Akhtar described the crime as “heinous and brutal” and convicted Rana under Section 302 of he IPC based on the testimonies of 34 witnesses, 110 documentary exhibits and 33 material objects.A fine of Rs 50,000 was also imposed on Rana. The court also sentenced him to additional rigorous imprisonment under sections 326A, 452 and 417 of the IPC. “If he defaults, the convict will undergo an additional year of rigorous imprisonment,” Mohanty said.
