High Court Upholds Life Term in Railway Employee’s Murder

Soumyadip Mullick | MP  | 4 Aug 2025 | Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of two men for the 2020 murder of a Railway employee in Malda, observing that electronic evidence and forensic reports established their presence at the crime scene and confirmed their involvement beyond reasonable doubt.

The victim, Hanuman Rai, a Railway employee, was found dead on October 26, 2020, in his official quarter at Kalibari Colony under English Bazar Police Station. According to the complaint filed by his nephew, Rai was discovered lying on the floor in a naked and bleeding state. He was declared dead on arrival at Malda Medical College and Hospital.

The trial court had convicted Mobarak and Jakir for murder and criminal conspiracy. The division bench of Justice Prasenjit Biswas and Justice Debangsu Basak, while dismissing their appeal, noted that although the prosecution relied entirely on circumstantial evidence, the chain of events left no reasonable doubt about their guilt.

Among the key pieces of evidence cited by the court were call detail records (CDRs), CCTV footage, and forensic findings. The last call received by the victim around 12:04 am on the day of the incident was traced to Mobarak’s mobile number. Mobile tower location data placed both accused near the victim’s residence at the relevant time.

CCTV footage from a nearby hotel showed two persons walking toward the Railway colony; one of them was wearing a blue shirt. A matching blue button was found at the crime scene. Mobarak later produced the shirt, from which the button had come loose.

Forensic analysis established that Rai had died of manual and ligature strangulation. A bite mark was also found on Mobarak, which he later claimed was inflicted by the victim during a physical altercation.

Police later recovered the victim’s red-coloured mobile phone from Jakir’s possession. CDRs showed that Jakir had inserted his own SIM card into the handset and used it for several days after the murder.

The court concluded that the motive stemmed from a history of alleged blackmail and coercion by the victim. It ruled that the circumstantial evidence, when taken together, formed a complete and unbroken chain pointing to the guilt of the accused.