The Calcutta High Court on Friday acquitted a capital punishment awardee and commuted the death sentence of two others to life imprisonment in the gangrape and murder of a 21-year-old woman at Kamduni in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district 10 years ago.

A local court had sentenced three convicts to the death penalty while three others got life imprisonment for the crime on June 7, 2013, when she was returning from college after appearing for an examination.

The sessions court had in 2016 awarded the capital punishment to Amin Ali, Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali, while Imanul Islam, Aminul Islam and Bhola Naskar had been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The high court acquitted Amin Ali and commuted the death sentence of Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali to imprisonment till the end of their natural life.

The court found the two guilty of gangrape and murder and other charges.

A division bench comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Ajay Kumar Gupta acquitted Sk Emamul Islam, Aminur Islam and Bhola Naskar of the charge of gang-rape, while convicting them for criminal conspiracy and causing disappearance of evidence.

Holding that the three have already suffered incarceration for more than 10 years since their arrest and their conviction entails a maximum of seven years imprisonment, the court directed that they will be set free upon payment of Rs 10,000 fine each, in default of which they will undergo simple imprisonment for three more months.

Family members of the victim said they would appeal against the order before the Supreme Court.

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