Gangtok, Nov. 28 -- In a significant milestone for Sikkim's legal system, the Sessions Court (Division-I) has delivered the first-ever conviction under the newly enforced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. The court sentenced Arpan Pradhan to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his grandmother, marking the first murder case to reach conviction under the updated law.

The case, filed as Singtam PS Case No. 28/2024 dated July 19, 2024, involved the shocking daylight killing of an elderly woman near the Juice Factory in Singtam. With no eyewitnesses, the incident initially appeared to be a blind case, posing major investigative challenges.

However, police cracked the case through coordinated and meticulous work led by Investigating ...