A Wedding Gift That Destroyed a Family: The Patnagarh Parcel Bomb Case

Odisha, India | May 26, 2025

On May 26, 2025, a district court in Patnagarh, Odisha, delivered a verdict that closed one of the most chilling criminal cases in recent Indian history. Seven years after a young family was shattered by a mysterious explosion, the court sentenced former college lecturer Punjilal Meher to life imprisonment for orchestrating a deadly parcel bomb attack that killed two people and left a young bride permanently scarred.

What initially appeared to be a tragic domestic accident turned out to be a meticulously planned act of revenge—one fueled by ego, resentment, and professional jealousy. The case, now widely known as the Patnagarh Parcel Bomb Case, serves as a grim reminder of how unchecked hatred can turn ordinary individuals into calculated criminals.

A Happy Family in a Quiet Town

Patnagarh is a small town in Odisha where life moves slowly and families often know each other across generations. In 2018, the Sahu family was considered one of the town’s most respected households.

Soumya Shekhar Sahu, 26, worked at an electronics company and was known as a polite, hardworking young man. His father was a professor of geology, his mother the principal of a local college, his younger sister was studying abroad in Kazakhstan, and his grandmother lived with them. It was a close-knit, educated family with a promising future.

On February 18, 2018, the family celebrated a joyous milestone when Soumya married Reema, a young woman who entered the household with dreams of love, stability, and a new beginning.

No one could have imagined that within days, those dreams would be reduced to ashes.

The Day Everything Changed

The tragedy unfolded on February 23, 2018, just five days after the wedding.

That afternoon, Soumya’s sister was returning to Kazakhstan. His father had gone to the airport with her, while his mother, unable to take leave, had returned to work at her college. At home were only Soumya, his wife Reema, and his elderly grandmother.

Around 12:45 PM, Reema was in the kitchen preparing lunch when the doorbell rang. Soumya answered the door to find a courier delivery man holding a large parcel addressed to him. The package was reportedly sent from Raipur by someone named “S. K. Sinha.”

Soumya signed for the delivery and carried the parcel into the kitchen. Curious, Reema asked who had sent it. Soumya replied that he did not know anyone by that name in Raipur, but assumed it was a wedding gift from a distant acquaintance.

Inside the parcel was a neatly wrapped gift box, covered in green paper. A white thread protruded from the box. Believing it to be part of a surprise mechanism, Soumya pulled the thread.

In that instant, the lives of everyone in that house changed forever.

The Explosion

A deafening blast ripped through the house, shattering walls, windows, and the ceiling. Neighbors heard the explosion and initially assumed a gas cylinder had burst.

When they rushed inside, they found a scene of horror. The kitchen was filled with smoke and debris. Soumya, Reema, and the grandmother lay critically injured, their bodies burned and broken.

Emergency services were called immediately. Firefighters and ambulances arrived, and the victims were rushed to the hospital.

Doctors declared the grandmother dead on arrival. Soumya had suffered burns covering nearly 90% of his body. Reema, who had been standing slightly farther away, sustained 40% burn injuries.

Despite intensive medical care, Soumya succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Reema survived—but her life was forever altered.

What was supposed to be a wedding gift had been a bomb.

A Case Wrapped in Mystery

The police initially treated the explosion as a domestic accident. However, forensic experts soon confirmed the presence of explosives in the kitchen. This was no accident—it was a deliberate act of murder.

The investigation faced immediate challenges. Two of the three people who knew what had happened were dead. Reema, the sole survivor, was in critical condition and unable to give a statement for days.

Once she regained consciousness, Reema recounted the sequence of events in detail, confirming that the explosion occurred the moment Soumya pulled the thread from the gift box.

The parcel had been delivered via Sky King Courier Service, a small courier company with no CCTV cameras in its office. The sender’s identity appeared fake, and the delivery trail quickly went cold.

Suspects, Dead Ends, and False Leads

Police questioned over 100 individuals in the initial phase of the investigation.

Reema mentioned that Soumya had received a threatening phone call months before the wedding. An unknown man had warned him not to marry Reema. The caller was traced to a man who harbored one-sided romantic feelings for Reema. However, he denied involvement, passed a polygraph test, and was eventually released due to lack of evidence.

Attention then turned to professional rivalries. Soumya’s mother told investigators about a bitter conflict at her workplace. An English lecturer named Punjilal Meher had previously served as the college principal before being removed from the position and replaced by her. The demotion had deeply embittered him.

At the time, however, police found no concrete evidence linking him to the crime.

After three weeks of stalled progress, the case was handed over to the Crime Branch, which reviewed footage from over 250 CCTV cameras across multiple towns—but still found no breakthrough.

The Letter That Changed Everything

On April 4, 2018, the Crime Branch received an anonymous letter addressed to the Assistant Superintendent of Police.

The letter stated that the explosion was caused by “betrayal, loss of life, and financial ruin.” It hinted at the involvement of three people but offered no clear names.

Forensic examination found no fingerprints.

When the letter was shown to Soumya’s mother, she immediately suspected Punjilal Meher. She noted the use of the word “undertaking”—a term Meher frequently used in official documents.

This linguistic clue proved decisive.

The Arrest and Confession

Police re-examined Punjilal Meher and conducted a search of his home. There, they found a critical piece of evidence: the courier receipt for the parcel bomb.

Confronted with the evidence, Meher eventually confessed.

He admitted that after being removed from the principal’s position, he developed intense hatred toward Soumya’s mother. Over seven months, he meticulously planned the crime—studying explosives, reading crime literature, and watching instructional videos.

When he received Soumya’s wedding invitation, he saw his opportunity.

He constructed the bomb, disguised it as a wedding gift, used a false name, and sent it via courier—fully aware that it could kill anyone who opened it.

The Long Road to Justice

Punjilal Meher was arrested on April 24, 2018. The trial lasted nearly seven years, involving extensive forensic evidence, expert testimony, and witness statements.

On May 26, 2025, the Patnagarh district court delivered its verdict.

Meher was found guilty of murdering Soumya Sahu and his grandmother and attempting to murder Reema. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

A Scar That Will Never Heal

For Reema, survival came at a terrible cost. She endured multiple surgeries, permanent physical injuries, and profound psychological trauma. Her married life ended almost before it began.

The Sahu family lost a son, a mother lost her child, and a family lost its future.

A Message to Society

The Patnagarh parcel bomb case is not just a criminal story—it is a warning.

It exposes how unchecked jealousy, professional rivalry, and wounded ego can spiral into unimaginable violence. It underscores the dangers of glorifying crime through media without understanding its devastating consequences.

As the court observed in its judgment, no crime is perfect. Those who commit acts of violence may evade justice temporarily, but truth has a way of surfacing—through evidence, persistence, and conscience.

Conclusion

A wedding gift should symbolize love and blessings. In Patnagarh, it became a weapon of destruction.

The case stands as one of India’s most disturbing reminders that hatred, when nurtured in silence, can destroy not just individuals—but entire families.

Justice may have arrived after seven long years, but the loss endured by the victims is permanent.

Justice was served. But the scars remain.