A court in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday sentenced to death two men, including one from Bangladesh, in connection with Shramjeevi Express train blast in 2005 that left at least 14 people dead and 62 injured.
Two other convicts were given death penalty in the case in 2016 and their appeals are pending in the high court; two other accused were killed in an encounter, and one is absconding. The court of additional sessions court judge Rajesh Kumar Rai awarded death sentences to Hilal alias Hilaluddin, a resident of Bangladesh, and Nafikul Vishwas, a resident of West Bengal.
“People had to bear unbearable pain. The accused had no enmity with the innocent people. The accused committed this criminal act under a conspiracy with beastly intention to spread terror among the people. .....there is no justification to show sympathy and softness with the accused, said the court in a 10-page verdict.
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“In this case, when the people were travelling in the general bogie of Shramjeevi express on July 28, 2005, the accused planted an attachi bomb prepared using RDX under the seat in a general bogie of the train, The bomb exploded at the spot, killing innocent people, including, men women and children. And several others were injured…” the judgment added.
{{/usCountry}}“In this case, when the people were travelling in the general bogie of Shramjeevi express on July 28, 2005, the accused planted an attachi bomb prepared using RDX under the seat in a general bogie of the train, The bomb exploded at the spot, killing innocent people, including, men women and children. And several others were injured…” the judgment added.
{{/usCountry}}A fine of ₹ 5 lakh each was also imposed on the two men, who were pronounced guilty on December 23.
The explosion ripped through a coach of the Patna-New Delhi train near the Jaunpur station in Uttar Pradesh around 5.00 pm on July 28, 2005. According to the prosecution, RDX was kept in toilet of the coach. The explosive had been used in many terrorist attacks in the country at the time, including the Ayodhya train bombing of June 2000.
Advocate Tajul Hasan, the counsel for accused, said they will challenge the ruling in the HC. “ We are not satisfied with this order. We will file an appeal against this order in Allahabad High Court, he said.
The hearing in the case started in 2016 after the two were brought to Jaunpur jail from Cherrapalli jail in Andhra Pradesh. Witnesses had reported that two young men had boarded the train at Jaunpur with a white suitcase. Shortly afterwards, both leapt out of the moving train without their suitcase and the explosion occurred a few minutes later.
The district government counsel said the Government Railway Police had registered a case against seven people. These included Alamgir alias Rony, Obaidur Rahman, Hilaluddin alias Hilal, Nafikul Vishwas, Ghulam Pachdani Yahiya, Kanchan alias Sharif and Doctor Saeed. Police have not been able to trace Saeed. A charge sheet was filed against the remaining six accused in court.District government counsel Satish Pandey said that Ghulam Pachdani and Kanchan were killed in a police encounter.The remaining four accused were arrested. In 2016, Alamgir and Obaidur Rahman were sentenced to death. Both have appealed against the decision in the high court