Agartala, February 19, 2024: The District and Sessions Court of Gomati district delivered a landmark verdict on Monday, sentencing Rajib Karmakar to 12 years in jail for kidnapping and sexually assaulting his sister-in-law. The court’s decision came after a rigorous trial that involved 16 witnesses, according to Special Public Prosecutor of Gomati District Court, Paltu Das.

Das said that Karmakar, who lived in Amarpur’s Fatik Sagar area of Gomati District, abused his wife and harassed his sister-in-law with indecent offers. He would beat his wife if his sister-in-law rejected his advances. On June 3, 2021, he sent his wife to a relative’s house near Agartala and seized the opportunity to abduct his sister-in-law on her way to a tutor’s house. He took her to Chennai, where he rented a house and raped her repeatedly. The horrific crimes were exposed when Karmakar’s father-in-law lodged a complaint with Kakraban Police Station.

Karmakar was arrested at the airport when he came back to the state. The investigating officer gathered evidence and filed a charge sheet to the court, starting the trial. The court found Karmakar guilty of several charges, including kidnapping, under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code, which earned him a 3-year jail term, a fine of Rs 3,000 and an extra month in prison if he failed to pay. He was also convicted under the POCSO Act, which led to a 12-year jail term, a fine of Rs 10,000 and another three months in prison if he defaulted.