Life Sentence for 'Wedding Bomb' Murderer in Shocking Odisha Case

A 56-year-old former college principal, Punjilal Meher, has been sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating a deadly bomb attack disguised as a wedding gift that killed a newlywed man and his great aunt in Odisha in 2018. The court found Meher guilty of murder, attempted murder, and the use of explosives, in a case that shocked the nation. The bomb exploded just days after the victim, Soumya Sekhar Sahu, a 26-year-old software engineer, had been married. The incident left his wife, Reema, critically injured. The court noted the prosecution described the crime as "heinous," yet opted against the death penalty, deeming it not to be among the "rarest of the rare" cases.

The shocking incident occurred in February 2018, when Soumya and Reema received a parcel addressed to them, falsely labeled as a wedding gift sent from Raipur. As Reema opened the package, a powerful blast resulted in the tragic deaths of Soumya and his 85-year-old great aunt, Jemamani Sahu. Investigators took several weeks to pinpoint Meher, who was fueled by personal rivalry against the victim’s family, having previously been in a professional dispute with Soumya’s mother, also a teacher.

After extensive investigations, including sifting through thousands of leads, police were tipped off by an anonymous letter which hinted at Meher being the perpetrator. They eventually found that he had built the bomb using materials originally hoarded for Diwali celebrations and had executed a careful plan to appear uninvolved. Police revealed that he even attended both the wedding and funeral. Meher's actions have put a spotlight on personal vendettas leading to horrific violence in India, provoking discussions about societal issues rooted in rivalry and retribution.