INDIA. TRIPURA JAIL MOURNS OVER CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR SAMIR

it was reported that both the prisoners and staff of Agartala Central Jail in India’s Tripura state, were distressed over the death sentence given to Samir Bhaumik, accused of the murder and rape of a minor. West Tripura District & Session Judge Subhash Bhattacharjee had sentenced Samir to death on June 3 for killing 7 year-old Puja Dutta after raping her in his studio in December 2002.
In the 185-page verdict, the judge commented: “It is the rarest of rare crimes that deserve highest punishment.” The judgment was a surprise to the prisoners, as they reportedly all believed Samir would only be awarded life imprisonment.
According to jail authorities only two out of 234 prisoners accepted dinner on the evening of June 3, while Samir himself had stopped eating. 
The judgment evoked mixed reactions in the state. Though most people supported capital punishment for the heinous crime, one section raised its voice against the judgment, pointing out that ‘death sentence is another murder under the cover of constitution, which is a more dangerous and inhuman act in civilized society’.