Assam, India - In perhaps the first ever verdict of its kind, a man accused of killing a couple branded as witches was sentenced to death on Saturday by a court in Assam's Darrang district.
Niranjan Khaklary, a 28-year-old farmer from Kobirali Kodumguri village of Darrang district, was convicted by the district and sessions judge of of killing 34-year-old N Daimary and 37-year-old Bimala Daimary on March 31, 2005.
A member of Khaklary's family had taken ill and did not recover after being treated by several doctors. Villagers then alleged that the couple practised witchcraft and had made Khaklary's kin ill.
Khaklary then axed the couple to death.
District and Sessions Judge Nalinakhya Sarma, delivering the verdict, said, "The heinous crime committed by you is unforgivable. You have no right to live and you shall be hanged to death."
This is the second case of a person being sentenced to death in Assam within a week. Anupam Das, the killer of 10-year-old Varun Sandilya who was sexually abused and chopped to pieces, was given the death sentence on November 14.
The judge further said, "If I permit the convicted to escape the penalty of law, it would be a mockery of justice and it would render the justice system of the country suspect.”
"Common man will lose faith in the court. Accordingly, accused Niranjan Khaklary should be hanged by neck till he is dead," he said.
The judge further observed that witch-hunting is a social disorder and it should be nipped in the bud, and offences of murder should be severely dealt with to save society from disgrace.