'Wedding Bomb' Killings: The Parcel That Blew Apart a Family

In the small Indian town of Patnagarh, nestled in Odisha's Bolangir district, a young couple had just begun their life together. Five days after their wedding, they received what appeared to be a thoughtful gift — a parcel from afar. But when they opened it, their home was torn apart by an explosion that left two dead and a nation stunned.

A Celebration Turned to Horror

On Feb. 23, 2018, 26-year-old software engineer Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his wife, Reema, 22, were preparing lunch in their home when a package arrived. It looked like a wedding present — festive, expected, and benign — which had traveled over 140 miles from Raipur, in the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh.

What no one knew at the time was that it wasn't sent in goodwill. It was rigged with explosives and set to detonate upon opening.

But when Soumya pulled a thread on the parcel, it exploded, killing him and his 85-year-old great-aunt, Jenamani Sahu. Reema survived but suffered severe burns, trauma, and long-term hearing damage.

A Mysterious Letter Changes Everything

For weeks, investigators combed through thousands of phone records and interrogated more than 100 people, but the case remained frustratingly cold.

Then, in April 2018, an anonymous letter arrived at the local police station. It claimed the bomb had been sent under the name "SK Sinha," not "SK Sharma" as initially recorded. The letter also alluded to money, "betrayal," and urged authorities to stop harassing innocent people, hinting at a crime of personal vengeance, according to the BBC.

However, Detective Arun Bothra noticed something odd — the handwriting on the parcel's receipt did resemble "Sinha," suggesting the letter writer had inside knowledge. That level of detail seemed unlikely to come from a bystander. Suspicion immediately heightened as it became clear the letter was meant to misdirect police.

When investigators showed the letter to the victim's mother, she recognized the phrasing and writing style. It matched that of a former colleague — Punjilal Meher.

The Suspect With a Personal Grudge

Meher, then 49, had once been the principal of Jyoti Vikas College, where Soumya's mother worked. After she replaced him in 2014, police said Meher harbored a deep resentment that quietly festered for years.

According to investigators, he spent months planning the attack. He reportedly studied bomb-making techniques online, extracted gunpowder from firecrackers during Diwali, and tested small explosions using LED lights as triggers.

To send the bomb, police said Meher carefully crafted an alibi. He attended a class that morning and marked himself present, left his phone at home to avoid location tracking, and boarded a train to Raipur without buying a ticket. Once there, he chose a courier office with no CCTV or parcel scanning, mailing the bomb under the false name "SK Sharma" — the detail that would ultimately prove his undoing.

Trial and Sentencing

Meher was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and use of explosives. In May 2025, seven years after the deadly blast, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The court stopped short of issuing the death penalty, stating it did not qualify as a "rarest of the rare" case under Indian law, according to the BBC.

Victim Soumya's father expressed disappointment but also gratitude: "We were hoping for capital punishment in the crime considering its rarest of the rare nature. But the court sentenced life imprisonment. We express our gratitude to the court," he told The Indian Express, as reported by PEOPLE.

A Chilling Reminder

The "wedding bomb" case is as haunting as it is surreal — a package meant to bring joy turned into a calculated weapon of vengeance. What makes it even more unsettling is how personal it was. This wasn't a political act or random violence — it was the result of a long-held workplace grudge, executed with terrifying precision.

Reema, the young bride who survived, continues to live with the scars of that day, both physical and emotional. Her wedding, once meant to mark a joyful beginning, became a national headline for tragedy.

References: 'Wedding Bomb' Murderer Who Killed Newlywed Man with Exploding Parcel Disguised as Gift Sentenced to Life: Reports | 'Wedding Bomb' Murderer Gets Life Sentence in India | College Teacher Who Disguised Bomb as Wedding Gift to Target Colleague's Son Gets Life Sentence