From lecturer to murderer: Odisha wedding gift blast accused faces heat on social media

Balangir/Bhubaneswar:  A day after Odisha police cracked the much sensational Patnagarh wedding gift bomb blast case with arresting main accused Punjilal Meher, an English lecturer, people on social media especially Facebook went berserk slamming him like anything for killing two people including a newly married man and demanded he should be hanged till death.

Punjilal, an English lecturer of Jyoti Vikas Junior College in Bhainsa of Balangir, whose Facebook status still says he is Principal of the college, has invited wrath of people, including some of his own friends, for masterminding the murder.

Some people who had hailed the English lecturer as an “intelligent” and “ideal” man in few occasions have now called him a “killer” and “murderer”. And, some others vented their anger hurling abuses which is beyond imagination.

One Supriya Mohanty, who is in Meher’s friends list, wrote he “should be hanged”.

Another Pranay Prasson mentioned: Educating the audience on making parcel bombs?

The English lecturer, who had planned and executed the blast out of jealousy after deceased Soumya’s mother Sanjukta was made principal of the Jyoti Bikash College at Bhainsa replacing him, is belived to be known for flaunting his status and wishes to attend every local event as Chief Guest.

His last post on Facebook was on March 21 which was a spiritual event in the locality.

“Murderer in a holy work,” a man wrote in the comments section soon after Meher was arrested.

“The Crime Branch sleuths, in course of their investigation, zeroed in on Punjilal Meher as the mastermind in the parcel gift blast case. They confirmed his complicity during its investigation in Raipur,” State Police DG R P Sharma had said.

According to police, Meher studied for seven months and took the help of the Internet to prepare the bomb, adding that he had tested small bombs manufactured by him before sending the gift parcel.

As a perfect crime plotter, he took fairy lights used for decoration during festivals and took out their filament and joined them together with a circuit, which when pulled would trigger the bomb. He put that filament in the middle of the handmade bomb and camouflaged it as a parcel with a wrapping paper around.

Soumya and Reema Sahu had married on February 18. Five days later, they received a parcel as a wedding gift. The parcel exploded when it was opened on February 23. Soumya and his grandmother Jemamani were killed in the blast while Reema suffered grievous burn injuries and was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. She was discharged from the hospital on April 12.