Meghalaya: East Jaintia Hills court delivers life sentence in decade-old kidnapping case

A special court in East Jaintia Hills has handed down a life sentence to a man convicted of kidnapping for ransom, concluding a case that has been under investigation and trial for over a decade.

Sanjay Das was found guilty by Special Judge B Khriam and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000. The conviction stems from a kidnapping case registered at Khliehriat Police Station in 2012 under Section 364(A) of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with kidnapping for ransom.

The investigation, led by Inspector L. Lyngkhoi, culminated in a charge sheet filed on July 28, 2014. Following a lengthy trial process, the court delivered its verdict this month, bringing closure to a case that has spanned nearly 12 years.

The Superintendent of Police for East Jaintia Hills District announced the conviction in an official press release dated January 15, 2026.

The same court also delivered verdicts in two other serious criminal cases on the same day.

Ramesh Dkhar received a life sentence for murder under Section 302 of the IPC, with an additional fine of Rs 10,000. The case, originally registered at Khliehriat Women Police Station in 2020, was investigated by WPI O. Tyngkan, with the charge sheet filed on March 31, 2021.

Separately, Apurba Das was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced to a total of eight years of rigorous imprisonment. He received five years under Section 10 of the POCSO Act with a Rs 10,000 fine, and three years under Section 8 with a Rs 5,000 fine. The investigation in this case, registered in 2022 at Khliehriat Women Police Station, was conducted by SI O. Nongtdu, with the charge sheet submitted on February 15, 2023.

All three convictions were announced by the office of the Superintendent of Police, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat, Meghalaya.