Odisha court reserves verdict in Patnagarh wedding gift blast case

Bhubaneswar: A court in Odisha’s Bolangir district Wednesday completed hearing in the 2018 Patnagarh wedding gift blast case .

The Patnagarh Additional District Judge (ADJ) court reserved the judgment, which is expected to be pronounced May 28, a government advocate said.

Two persons, including the groom, were killed in the blast, which occurred when the groom was opening a gift packet February 23, 2018, a day after his wedding reception. The incident sparked outrage across the state. The case was being investigated by the Crime Branch of Odisha Police.

We have duly proved all the evidence collected against the accused, Punjilal Meher, during the investigation, before the court. We have not left any missing link in proving the evidence, government counsel Chittaranjan Kanungo said.

He said the arguments were based on circumstantial evidence, as no direct evidence was there in this case.

Pramod Mishra, the counsel for the accused, said the prosecution had started the arguments in the final phase of the case May 9, and the trial was completed during the day.

The prosecution submitted an argument against the accused on the basis of the charge sheet submitted by the Crime Branch, whereas the defence pointed out the breaking of chains in the circumstances and faults in the investigation, he said.

We have sufficient evidence to prove Punjilal innocent, while the Crime Branch has failed to submit the required documents to convict him. We have submitted all these details point-wise before the court during the arguments, Mishra said.

The defence submitted its reply, and now the court will pronounce its verdict, the advocate said.

PTI

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