Murder Case Without Body: Will Sumanta Bansi’s Parents Get Justice?

Since February 2018, Sumanta . has been without a trace disappeared from Hoorn, where she lived with Manodj and his family. She had a secret affair with him and was pregnant by him. In November 2020, Manodj B. (42) and his father Dwarka (65) were arrested. Today they hear what punishment will be demanded against them.

“The lack of forensic traces can speak for Manodj, but there is more to him,” says lawyer Vito Shukrula, who is a criminal lawyer for Ad ‘de Rat’. Ad K. and his companion Fred T. became acquitted in the murder case of drug criminal Patrick Hillegom. Also a murder case without a body. The court found in this case that, despite the fact that a confession had been obtained through the controversial Mr. Big method, this one was not properly incorporated and elaborated.

“But”, says Shukrula: “It is a big misunderstanding that in the Netherlands suspects cannot be convicted in the absence of the corpse.” He refers to the disappearances of Henk Peters† Ilham Benchelhen and Michael de Vriezein which the accused were indeed convicted. “But”, Shukrula continues, “these things have in common that a blood trail was present. And in Sumanta’s case, forensic traces are missing.”

Lots of evidence

Still, Shukrula is leaning towards Manodj B. being sentenced on Tuesday. He says that Sumanta just had a new mattress and that a new mattress was found after her disappearance. “That could indicate that a crime has taken place in or around the bed.”

Shukrula also refers to the fact that Manodj literally said in a conversation with his brother that he killed her and talked about the murder weapon. Shukrula notes that the court has also questioned Manodj very firmly: ‘but where is she then?’ Finally, Shukrula calls it an illogical idea that Sumanta would have gone to Dubai out of the blue. “She was a student, had no money and she was pregnant. Moreover, after Sumanta’s disappearance, Manodj was not really involved in her fate.”

Shukrula thinks it will be a tough job for the defense to get acquitted. “Manodj’s confessions were also obtained lawfully and not through the controversial Mr. Big method.”

aggravation of the sentence

“It’s a real embarrassment for the court if someone shows up again. You want to know if someone really died,” says Shrukula. “And that’s something Manodj insists on. He hopes for acquittal, because they don’t know where she is.”

The fact that Sumanta’s body was never found is not a reason for a reduced sentence either. According to Shukrula, this could lead to a heavier sentence. “Keeping a body hidden is also a criminal offense. The court can charge you even more, because the family lives in uncertainty for years. You deprive them of the right to say goodbye.”