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2013 Gandhi Maidan blasts: 4 sentenced to death, 5 awarded prison terms
Seven Improvised Explosive Devices went off on October 27, 2013, before a rally by Narendra Modi, then the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate. Six people were killed and 90 injured in the explosions
PATNA: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Monday sentenced four of the nine men convicted for the 2013 serial blasts at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan to death, while the remaining five were awarded prison terms ranging from seven years to life term.
Seven Improvised Explosive Devices went off on October 27, 2013, before a rally by Narendra Modi, then the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate. Six people were killed and 90 injured in the explosions.
The additional district and sessions judge (XV) of the special NIA court, Gurwinder Singh Malhotra awarded capital punishment to Imtiyaz Ansari, Haider Ali alias Abdullah, Noman Ansari and Mohammed Mujibullah Ansari.
Umar Siddiqui and Azharuddin Qureshi were sentenced to life imprisonment, Ahmed Hussain and Feroz Aslam were sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment while Mohammed Iftekhar Alam was awarded a seven-year prison term.
Five of the convicts — Haider Ali, Imtiaz Ansari, Umer Siddique, Azharuddin Qureshi and Mujibullah Ansari — are already serving life terms for the Bodh Gaya Mahabodhi blasts that took place just over three months before the explosions at Modi’s election rally.
The court also imposed different quantum of fine on each accused.
In its charge sheet, NIA said the accused planned the Patna bombings after they failed to get close to Modi at previous rallies in New Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. The agency claimed the accused even carried out a dry run of a suicide bombing in Ranchi.
The last bomb went off at 12.25 pm — 20 minutes before Modi and senior leaders took the stage. A total of 17 IEDs — seven of them had detonated — were found in and around the Gandhi Maidan.
The nine were convicted on October 27 by the special NIA judge for planting and detonating the explosives.
Special public prosecutor Lalan Kumar Sinha said the nine were convicted for criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, waging war against the government of India, conspiracy to wage war against the government, destroying evidence, explosives and railway act and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Two of the accused, Imtiyaz Ansari (Gandhi Maidan) and Mohammad Tariq Ajam (Patna Junction), were injured in the incident and revealed the name of the other associates. Ajam died during treatment. Following their revelations, the Bihar police and NIA also managed to solve the Bodh Gaya blasts case.
In the Bodh Gaya bombings, on July 7, 2013, 10 of the 13 IEDs planted went off, killing five people.
Senior police officer Manu Maharaaj, who was Patna’s senior superintendent of police when the blasts took place, said Imtiaz’s arrest after his injury in an accidental blast at Patna railway junction on the day of Modi’s rally blew the lid off the conspiracy. “There would have been more blasts if the culprit were not arrested,” added Maharaaj.
Former Bihar police chief Abhyanand told HT that they were happy with the court’s judgment. The former DGP added that due to team work, Bihar police managed to arrest one of the accused on the spot and averted stampede at the Gandhi Maidan.
