A special court in Kolkata on Friday sentenced 19 people, including four Bangladeshi nationals, to jail terms ranging from six to 10 years for their involvement in a bomb blast in Burdwan in West Bengal less than four years ago. The four Bangladeshis convicted in the case were awarded 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and would be sent back to their country following completion of their sentence, Siddhartha Kanjilal, chief judge at City Sessions Court, presiding over the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, ordered.
The Burdwan blast of October 2, ,2014 left two person dead and blew the lid off a thriving network of the operatives of terror outfit Jamat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Bangladesh and India. Other than the four Bangladeshis, the rest of the 15 convicts are Indians of whom two women and a young man, who claimed to be a student, were sentenced to six years' rigorous imprisonment. The rest 12 convicts were sentenced to various terms from 8 years to 10 years in prison.
All the 19 convicts, out of a total 31 accused in the case, have admitted their guilt in the blast in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district of West Bengal on October 2, 2014. They were convicted by the special court for conspiracy and waging war against the country and under various provisions of stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Bombs and improvised explosive devices were being manufactured in the rented two-storied house when the blast occurred, killing two persons involved. Trial of the remaining 12 accused in the case would continue, NIA lawyer Shyamal Ghosh said.
