The convicts being led away after the sentencing Friday by an NIA court in Patna. PTI
A NATIONAL Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Patna Friday handed out life terms to all five convicts in the 2013 Bodhgaya blasts case. The sentences were delivered five days after the court found all five guilty. The case relates to four bomb blasts inside and near the Mahabodhi temple on July 7, 2013, in which a devotee was injured.
On Friday, Additional District Judge Manoj Kumar Sinha handed the life terms to Umer Siddiqui (39), Azaharuddin Qureshi (25), Imtiyaz Ansari (35), Haider Ali (30) and Mujibullah Ansari (28) under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 153A (promoting communal enmity), and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.
The court also sentenced Haider Ali to 14 years’ imprisonment under IPC section 458 (trespass, causing hurt and wrongful restraint), and three years to Umer Siddiqui under IPC sections 153A and 120B.
Special Public Prosecutor Manoj Kumar Singh said the court also handed 10-year jail terms each to Haider, Mujibullah and Imtiyaz under section 120B. Singh confirmed that all the accused were awarded life sentences under sections of the Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act. All the sentences would run concurrently, he said.
The court also imposed penalty of Rs 10,000 on each convict, failing which their imprisonment would increase by another six months.
The NIA stated in its chargesheet that Haider Ali was the mastermind of the blasts. It said that the blasts were planned at the house of Umer Siddiqui in Raipur while the explosives were provided by Umer.
The sixth accused in the case was a juvenile whose case was heard separately by the Juvenile Justice Board. The blasts had created panic in the region and impacted the flow of tourists to Bodhgaya for at least two years. Ninety prosecution witnesses deposed before the court. Twelve other witnesses were examined but their identities were withheld due to security reasons.