india

Updated: Oct 03, 2019 22:53 IST

The prime accused in rape and murder of one of the two women, who were found dead in toilets of trains in Assam on consecutive days in July 2018, was sentenced to death by a court on Thursday.

Bikash Das, 41, was sentenced to death and life imprisonment by sessions judge SK Poddar in Sivasagar for murder and rape of a 21-year-old student.

“Today, the court sentenced him to death. Das was already sentenced to life by a (Tinsukia) court in June 2019 after he was found guilty of rape and murder of a 48-year-old woman which happened merely 36 hours after the student was found murdered,” said Rajveer, Superintendent of Police, Government Railway Police (GRP).

On July 5, a 21-year-old student of the Assam Agricultural University was found strangled in the toilet of a compartment reserved for differently abled people on the New Tinsukia-Rangiya Express. Her body was found by a sweeper at Simaluguri station around 9.15 am, approximately 20 minutes after she had boarded the train from Sivasagar.

The next afternoon, body of a 48-year-old woman was recovered from the toilet of a coach reserved for differently abled people on the Awadh-Assam Express at Jorhat’s Mariani Junction.

Both the cases had a similar modus operandi and a gamusa (Assamese towel) was recovered from the crime spot.

Based on CCTV footage of the Tinsukia railway station on the day of the second murder, police nabbed Bikash Das, who ran a tea shop and worked as a hawker, on July 12 while he was waiting to board another train.

Another suspect arrested by the police has been acquitted by the court in both cases.

In his judgment, Poddar has recommended that sub-inspector and a head constable of the RPF who nabbed Das be suitably rewarded for their prompt action.

“It was a difficult case and multi agency investigation involving the GRP, police of four districts, and the CID helped in nabbing the culprit,” said R Chandranathan, Director General of Police, Meghalaya, who was the then Special Director General in-charge of Railways.