A 31-year-old man, Raja Paik, has been acquitted by a Kolkata court after spending eight years in jail for the alleged murder of his friend, Chiranjib Gupta. The Alipore sessions court judge, Surajit Mandal, released Paik, citing critical lapses in the police investigation. Paik was arrested in September 2017 following a complaint filed by Gupta's mother, who found her 24-year-old son dead in their home with a pillow on his face.

Judge Mandal pointed out that the prosecution failed to explain why the bloodstained pillow and a cotton belt, the alleged murder weapons, were not sent for forensic examination. The judge stated that this raised doubts about the integrity of the investigation. He also questioned why the police didn't conduct a forensic examination on the cotton belt.

The prosecution argued that Paik's possession of Gupta's cellphone linked him to the murder. However, the court dismissed this argument, finding it illogical that a murderer would keep such incriminating evidence. Judge Mandal reasoned that a person who commits murder would typically try to eliminate any physical evidence that could implicate them. The judge added that it would be unlikely for a murderer to intentionally create evidence against themselves by stealing and keeping the victim's mobile phone.

This is not an isolated incident where the Calcutta High Court has intervened in cases of potentially wrongful convictions. In November 2024, the High Court quashed the life sentence of a man who had been in jail for over nine years, observing that he was not the perpetrator of his elder brother's murder. The court noted that the prosecution had failed to establish a clear chain of circumstances connecting the accused to the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.