Not rarest of rare: HC commutes death penalty to life term in child murder
Times of India | 25 August 2025
Kolkata: The death penalty of two Andhra Pradesh residents — a mother and her boyfriend — for the killing of a one-and-a-half-year-old child were commuted to life imprisonment without remission until 40 years by Calcutta High Court. The body was found in the Falaknuma Express at Howrah Station. The HC, while reducing the sentence, observed that the case did not qualify as the rarest of rare.
However, the court on Thursday upheld the conviction, stating that the baby was last seen alive in their company and the two have not been able to explain the circumstances under which he was found dead. "The evidence on record has sufficiently established that the victim was in the company of the appellants reasonably prior to his death," the division bench of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi held.
Hasina Sultana (34) and Sk Vannur Sha (37) were found guilty by the Howrah court for the murder of Hasina's son on Feb 27, 2024, and were sentenced to death along with five years' imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine each for disappearing evidence. | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in KolkataThe incident dates back to 2016 when a toddler's body with blue lips and blood dripping down the nose was found in a black-red bag in the Falaknuma Express on Jan 24, 2016. It was the mother's confession that later revealed the cold-blooded murder by the couple. Hasina had the baby with her ex-husband. She, along with the toddler, later started living with her mother, Sk Roshan Bee (60), citing matrimonial troubles. Her mother, on Dec 29, 2015, filed a missing plaint with the Tenali-1 PS stating that Hasina and the toddler were missing since the evening of Dec 22, 2015. Hasina later returned to her mother's place without the toddler. Hasina later told cops that she married Vannur and was living with him at a rented Hyderabad flat. She said the child used to cry, attracting the landlord's disapproval, for which the duo used to beat the toddler. One day, he fell ill and was administered medicine, after which he turned cold and died. It was then found that the baby was taken to Secunderabad station and left in the general compartment of the Howrah-bound train.