Assam Court Sentences Man To Death For Murder Of Student Who Rejected Marriage Proposal

A Dhemaji court in Assam on Thursday awarded the death penalty to Rintu Sarma for the brutal murder of college student Nandita Saikia, who was killed in 2021 after rejecting his marriage proposal.

District and Sessions Judge Ajay Faglu held the crime to be in the “rarest of rare” category, convicting Sarma under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Along with the death penalty, he was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and three years under Section 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons), with fines under both charges.

On August 21, 2021, Sarma, a fourth-grade employee at Moridhal College, attacked Nandita with a machete while she was returning home with her classmate, Kashmina Dutta, and Kashmina’s father, Deba Dutta, in Dhemaji town. All three sustained severe injuries. Nandita, then a student of Moridhal College, was later shifted to Dibrugarh, where she succumbed to her wounds five days later.

The verdict came after a four-year trial during which 41 witnesses were examined and police submitted a 400-page chargesheet.

Expressing relief, Nandita’s father said, “We waited four years for this day. I only hope higher courts uphold the judgment so no one dares commit such a crime again.” Survivor Kashmina Dutta added, “The memory of that attack will never leave us, but today justice feels served.”

The victim’s counsel welcomed the ruling, describing the killing as “a crime against society” and stating that the court had “rightly imposed the harshest punishment.”

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