The High Court of Tripura on Tuesday acquitted two individuals convicted in the sensational 2019 bank manager murder case that had sparked widespread attention across the state. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a “prior meeting of minds” linking them to the fatal crime.
The case had emerged as one of Tripura’s most high-profile criminal matters, with those convicted including a police officer and youths from influential business families. In 2023, the West Tripura District and Sessions Court had convicted four persons and sentenced them to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of bank manager Bodhisatwa Das.
Senior advocate Subrata Sarkar, representing Sumit Banik, stated that the High Court acquitted Sumit Banik and Sumit Chowdhury after finding insufficient evidence proving any shared criminal intent between them and the principal accused.
According to the case details, the incident occurred during the night of August 3–4, 2019, near Jackson Gate. Bodhisatwa Das and a friend were present at the location when traffic police inspector Sukanta Biswas, Sumit Banik, and Sumit Chowdhury arrived in a car. An argument reportedly broke out after Das and his friend objected to the men urinating in front of a medicine shop.
The verbal confrontation soon escalated into a physical altercation. During the scuffle, Sohaib Miah allegedly arrived at the scene and became involved. Sarkar stated that Miah suddenly pulled out a sharp knife and stabbed Das multiple times.
Following the attack, those present reportedly fled the spot, leaving Das injured on the road. Fire Service personnel later shifted him to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Before his death, Das recorded a statement identifying the accused, while an FIR was subsequently lodged by his mother.
Sarkar argued before the court that Banik and Chowdhury neither knew of Miah’s intentions nor had any personal enmity with the victim. Accepting this argument, the division bench comprising Justice Dr. T. Amarnath Goud and Justice S. Datta Purkayastha acquitted the two accused.
Sarkar also noted that convicted police officer Sukanta Biswas did not challenge the lower court’s verdict.
