Indian Court Convicts Bomb Terror Convicts In Patna: Four Sentenced To Death, Two Imprisoned For Life

Tempat kampanye Narendra Modi di Gandhi Maidan, Patna, India. (Wikimedia Commons/Heax18)

JAKARTA - India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court on Monday announced the sentences for nine convicts in the 2013 Gandhi Maidan serial explosion case in Patna.

Quoting from ABP 3 November, four of the nine convicts were sentenced to death, two to life, two to 10 years in prison and one to 7 years in prison.

Four convicts who have been sentenced to death are Imtiaz Ansari, Haider Ali alias Black Beauty, Noman Ansari and Muzibullah Ansari. Meanwhile, Umar Sidiqqi and Azaharuddin Kuresi were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, those sentenced to 10 years in prison were Ahmed Hussain and Feroz Aslam. And, Iftikhar Alam was sentenced to 7 years in prison, the IANS news agency reported.

The court stated that the NIA's charges of sedition, criminal conspiracy, murder, attempted murder and UAPA had been proven.

Previously, the NIA court had convicted nine defendants in the series of explosions that occurred in Gandhi Maidan Patna on 27 October 2013. One defendant Faqeuddin was acquitted for lack of evidence and the other was a minor who was sent to the Juvenile Justice Council.

In 2013, at least six bombs exploded in Patna City during the campaign of Narendra Modi, who was then the candidate for prime minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister of Gujarat.

The explosion left six people dead and many others injured. The first explosion occurred at the Patna railway station, and another explosion in and around the Gandhi Maidan before Modi and other leaders reached the scene.

This case was taken up by the NIA in 2013 which arrested the alleged mastermind Haider Ali in 2014. An indictment sheet was filed by the NIA in 2014. And the last trial of the case has started in 2018.

To note, nine of the suspects are members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) and one person is associated with the Indian Islamic Student Movement (SIMI).