A court in Assams Jorhat district on October 20 sentenced one person to death and 24 others to life imprisonment for lynching an elderly doctor in a tea garden hospital following the death of a worker there in August last year.

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Jorhat district and sessions judge had on October 12 convicted these 25 tea garden workers of beating to death 73-year-old Dr Deben Dutta in the hospital of Teok tea estate, and pronounced the quantum of punishment on October 20. While the 25-year-old was awarded capital punishment, 24 others get life imprisonment. The lifers have also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each and, in default, they will have to serve an extra month in jail.

During the trial, one accused died in custody and the judgement against him was kept in abeyance. The 25 men convicted of murder, wrongful confinement, rioting and other charges attended the proceedings through video conference from Jorhat Jail where they are lodged. They were convicted for charges of murder, wrongful confinement, rioting and others. Dutta was attacked on August 31, 2019, at the hospital of Teok tea estate following the death of a garden worker who was under treatment there. The doctor, who was working there without remuneration after his retirement, later died in Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.