A Birbhum district court today sentenced 35 persons to life imprisonment for the murder of CPI(M) activist Jainal Abedin in 1996.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Subhradip Mitra, who had convicted all the 35 accused yesterday, pronounced the quantum of punishment today.
According to prosecution, Jainal Abedin and another man were attacked by a group of villagers in the wee hours of September 5, 1996, over a dispute among them.
The attackers used sharp weapons and bombs to critically injure Abedin who later died at a hospital. However, his companion managed to escape.
Altogether 37 persons were arrested in connection with the case and two of them died during the course of trial.
One of the 35 was SK Sajmal, a co-accused in the murder of Sagar Ghosh, a former Trinamool Congress member who had fought and won as an independent in the 2013 panchayat polls.
