HT Digital,
Chirang, April 24: In a significant development, five individuals implicated in the brutal murder of teenager Priya Basumatary in Assam’s Chirang district have been acquitted, marking the end of a longstanding legal dispute.
The District Judicial Court in Chirang announced the verdict. The acquitted individuals are Nembrat Borgayari, Anan Brahma, Lebou Basumatary, Dhananjay Daimary and Soumkhour Basumatary.
Priya Basumatary, aged 16, was brutally killed in August 2014 by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in front of her family and fellow villagers, reportedly under suspicion of being a police informer.
Another four accused in the case, Bishnu Goyari alias G Bidai, Lachit Narzary, Budha Muchahary and Binod Muchahary alias Batha, have been fugitives since the incident and no judgment was made on their cases.
Following the incident, then Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced a bravery award of Rs 20 lakh for the victim’s next of kin and proposed a bravery award in Priya Basumatary’s name and her nomination for the national bravery award.
