Youth Gets Rigorous Lifer for Murdering Aunt in Darjeeling

Amitava Banerjee | MP  | 22 July 2025 | Darjeeling:  The Darjeeling District Judge Court sentenced a 26-year-old youth to rigorous life imprisonment for murdering his 45-year-old aunt, Chitra Kala Gurung.

“Judge Jimut Bahan Biswas sentenced 26-year-old Pranesh Rai to rigorous life imprisonment for murdering Chitra Kala Gurung on March 14, 2022. A total of 53 witnesses were examined in this case,” stated Pranay Rai, Public Prosecutor, Darjeeling.

On March 14, 2022, when his wife did not answer his repeated cell phone calls, Nabin Gurung, a teacher, accompanied by a colleague, Jainidhi Sharma, rushed home from Vidyasagar High School, Bijanbari. On reaching his residence at Relling Road at around 2:15 PM, he found the door locked from inside. With still no response, he opened the front door with a duplicate key and entered.

In the kitchen, he found his wife, Chitra Kala Gurung (45), lying in a pool of blood. On checking the other rooms, Gurung discovered that the almirah was broken and valuables, including gold and cash, were missing. The pet dog had also been killed. An FIR was filed by him at the Pulbazar Police Station, and the police began an investigation.

CCTV footage of all entry and exit routes to the house was examined. On March 16, 23-year-old Pranesh Rai was arrested from the Pulbazar area. Rai, who is Nabin Gurung’s nephew, was staying in Shanti Parbat in Darjeeling as a paying guest.

During interrogation, Rai confessed that he had visited the house and demanded money from his aunt, Chitra Kala. When she refused to pay, a heated altercation ensued. She was alone in the house at the time. The accused then assaulted her and repeatedly hit her with a blunt weapon. When she collapsed, he stole money and gold ornaments from the almirah and fled to Siliguri.

The accused was charged under Sections 302 (murder), 379 (theft), and 429 (killing animals) of the IPC.

“CCTV footage of the convict within an hour of the murder in the same area, sporting a green t-shirt, was important evidence. Nabin Gurung identified the t-shirt as his and the person wearing it as Pranesh, his nephew. After the murder, the t-shirt had gone missing from his house. There were other witnesses who had given Pranesh a lift on their bikes and vehicles from Relling Road, Bijanbari to Shanti Parbat in Darjeeling. Following the murder, Pranesh had also conducted online money transfers to a number of persons. All these helped zero in on him,” added the Public Prosecutor.

Courtesy & source: Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/youth-gets-rigorous-lifer-for-murdering-aunt-in-darjeeling-619775