Four Bangladeshi nationals are among 19 persons convicted by a special court in Kolkata on Wednesday for all the charges against them in the case relating to the powerful bomb blast in a house in Burdwan on October 2 nearly five years ago.
The quantum of sentence against the 19 convicts will be pronounced on August 30 (Friday) by the special court in Kolkata, India’s National Investigation Agency, which probed the case, said in a statement. All the convicted persons pleaded guilty to the charges, NIA said.
The four Bangladeshis convicted in the case are: Sheikh Rahamatullah, Sadiq, Liakot Ali Pramanik and Habibur Rahman alias Jahidul Islam.
They were found guilty under the relevant sections of stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Indian Penal Code, Explosives Act, Passport Act and Foreigners Act, the agency said. The 15 other persons convicted in the case are Indians. A powerful bomb (Improvised Explosive Device) blast had taken place on the first floor of a house in busy Khagragarh locality of Burdwan district of West Bengal, leaving two persons dead.
The IED had accidentally gone off at the time of its making by the members of banned terrorist organization Jamat-ul-Mujaheedin Bangladesh(JMB) whose members took the house on rent ostensibly for burqa stitching though in reality it was being used for bomb-making.
The case was initially registered by West Bengal police, which was subsequently taken over by NIA for investigation.
Investigation by NIA revealed a conspiracy by JMB to radicalize, recruit and provide training in arms and explosives to its members in India as well as to commit terrorist acts and wage a war against the democratically-established governments of India and Bangladesh, the NIA statement said. A large number of IEDs, explosives, hand grenades, training videos were recovered during the investigation of the case, the agency said. At present, 30 arrested and charge sheeted accused persons are in judicial custody of the special court for NIA cases in Kolkata for the trial which will continue, it added.
