Eight people were sentenced to death by a Kolkata court on Tuesday for the murder of Sourav Chowdhury, a 19-year-old who was mutilated and hacked to death in 2014 for his protests against local liquor and drug groups. He was killed in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district early in July 2014. Reports said his body was cut into pieces and thrown on nearby railway tracks to make it look like an accident.
The ruling Trinamool Congress was attacked by Opposition groups following his murder, with the Congress, Left and Bharatiya Janata Party saying local police had been pressured by the TMC. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also accused of protecting anti-social elements in the state.
Last week, 12 of the 13 accused in the case were pronounced guilty by a court in Barasat.
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