2013 Patna Gandhi Maidan serial blasts case: NIA court awards death sentences to 4 accused
At least six people had lost their lives and 83 were injured in these blasts at the then PM candidate Narendra Modi’s rally.
FollowA special Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court Patna awarded death sentences for four accused while two others were given life imprisonment, two got 10 years jail term, and one accused was given seven years sentence in 2013 Gandhi Maidan serial blasts. At least six people had lost their lives and 83 were injured in these blasts at the then PM candidate Narendra Modi’s rally.
Earlier, the NIA court had convicted nine out of the 10 accused in blasts case on Wednesday, while one accused was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Special NIA judge Gurvinder Mehrotra, who passed the order, pronounced guilty the accused -- Imtiaz Ansari, Mujibullah, Haider Ali, Firoz Aslam, Omar Ansari, Iftekhar, Ahmed Husain, Umair Siddiqui and Azharuddin. The court acquitted Fakhruddin.
At least six bombs had gone off in Patna during Narendra Modi’s “hunkar” rally in 2013. Totally 17 IEDs were found in and around Gandhi Maidan. Meanwhile, four live bombs were later discovered near the venue.
Also read: Mumbai: Anil Deshmukh appears before ED in money laundering case after skipping four summons
Two bombs went off within 150 metres of the platform from where Modi delivered his speech, while six of the blasts had taken place around the venue of the rally. The last bomb went off at 12.25 pm — just 20 minutes before Modi and top BJP leaders went onto the stage.
No terror outfit claimed responsibility for the serial blasts and the Bihar Police did not call it a terror attack. However, the then Director General of Police, Abhayanand confirmed the use of IEDs and timers. Also, intelligence sources had revealed the use of ammonium nitrate, detonators, timer devices and iron nails.
NIA arrested the alleged mastermind Hyder Ali in 2014 in connection with the case along with Taufeeq Ansari, Mojibullah and Numan Ansari. The NIA filed the chargesheet in 2014 and the final hearing of the case started in 2018.
According to reports, nine of the accused were members of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and one was associated with Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
