The Wedding Bomb : Murder Most Foul
In the quiet town of Bhubaneswar, Odisha carried a weight heavier than the monsoon clouds gathering overhead. The Bolangir district ADJ court was about to deliver a verdict that would close a dark chapter in the state’s history—a case that had haunted its people for seven years, known infamously as the “wedding bomb” case.
Seven years earlier, in 2018, the Sahu household was filled with the glow of new beginnings. Soumya Sekhar Sahu, a 26-year-old software engineer with a bright smile and brighter prospects, had just married Reema, a kind-hearted woman who dreamed of building a life with him. The couple’s wedding was a vibrant affair, filled with laughter, music, and the blessings of their loved ones. Among them was Soumya’s 85-year-old great-aunt, Kamala, a frail but spirited woman whose stories of old Odisha kept the family rooted in their heritage. Days after the wedding, as the festivities lingered, a parcel arrived at their doorstep, wrapped in festive paper and tied with a ribbon—a wedding gift, or so it seemed.
Reema, still basking in the joy of her new life, eagerly opened the package with Soumya and Kamala by her side. But as the wrapping fell away, a deafening explosion tore through the room. The blast was merciless. Soumya and Kamala were killed instantly, their lives snuffed out in a moment of unimaginable horror. Reema, caught in the epicenter, was critically wounded, her body and spirit scarred by the sudden violence. The festive air turned to ash, and the Sahu family was plunged into grief.
The investigation that followed was a labyrinth of dead ends and painstaking clues. The police, under mounting pressure, combed through every detail of the parcel’s origin. It was India’s first known parcel bomb case, a crime so audacious it stunned the nation. Months passed before a breakthrough came, not from forensic evidence but from a mother’s intuition. Sanjukta Sahu, Soumya’s mother, recognized something chillingly familiar in the handwritten address on the parcel’s remnants. The script, the phrasing—it bore the unmistakable mark of Munjilal Meher, a former colleague at Jyoti Vikash College in Bhainsa, where she now served as principal.
Munjilal Meher, 56 at the time of his sentencing, was a teacher and former principal of the college, once a respected figure in the community. But beneath his scholarly demeanor burned a grudge that had festered for years. When Sanjukta replaced him as principal, Meher’s pride was wounded, his resentment growing into something sinister. The police uncovered a tale of calculated vengeance: Meher, consumed by bitterness, had crafted the bomb and disguised it as a wedding gift, targeting Soumya to strike at Sanjukta’s heart. It was a plan as meticulous as it was monstrous.
The trial was a spectacle, drawing crowds and media to the Bolangir court. Prosecutors painted Meher as a cold-blooded mastermind, detailing how he had studied explosives and used his knowledge to construct the deadly device. The courtroom buzzed with outrage as they described the “heinous” nature of the crime—a young man’s life cut short, an elderly woman’s wisdom silenced, and a bride left to carry the weight of loss. Yet, Meher sat stoically, his face betraying little as the evidence mounted against him.
On that fateful day in May 2025, the ADJ court delivered its verdict. The judge, acknowledging the gravity of Meher’s actions, sentenced him to life in prison for murder and the use of explosives. A fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed, a symbolic gesture in the face of such irreparable loss. The court stopped short of deeming it a “rarest of the rare” case, sparing Meher the death penalty, but the ruling offered little solace to the Sahu family. For Sanjukta, who had lost her son and aunt, and for Reema, whose dreams of a shared future lay in ruins, justice was a hollow echo against their grief.
As Meher was led away, the people of Bhubaneswar whispered about the case, a cautionary tale of how envy could twist a heart into something unrecognizable. The “wedding bomb” case would linger in their memories, a reminder of the fragility of joy and the depths of human vengeance.
|Also Read : ‘Wedding Bomb’ Murderer Who Killed Newlywed Man with Exploding Parcel Disguised as Gift Sentenced to Life: Reports |
