Calcutta HC Commutes Death Sentence in Shocking Temple Beheading Case Over Witchcraft Suspicion

The Calcutta High Court has commuted the death sentence of Radha Kanta Bera, convicted of beheading a woman inside a temple on suspicion of witchcraft, to life imprisonment.

The Court held that the case did not qualify as a "rarest of rare" scenario and took into account Bera’s mental illness, absence of prior criminal record, and good conduct during incarceration.

The brutal killing occurred in a temple, where Bera forced the woman to bow before an idol before beheading her.

While the trial court had awarded capital punishment, the High Court found life imprisonment to be an adequate and just sentence in the circumstances.

[The State of West Bengal v Radha Kanta Bera]