Assam court sentences 10 to life imprisonment for 2008 blasts

Guwahati, Jan 30 (IANS) Two days after their conviction, a special court here on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) chief Ranjan Daimary and nine others for their involvement in the serial blasts of 2008 that left 88 people dead and 540 injured across the state.

While Daimary and the others were sentences to life imprisonment, four other convicts were sentenced to five to seven years in jail with fine. These four will, however, be released after payment of the fine as they have already served their jail term.

CBI judge A.K. Chakrabory pronounced the quantum of punishment at a special court in Chandmari area which was put under tight security.

The court had on Monday convicted 14 people including Daimary alias D.R. Nabla for their involvement in the serial blasts that rocked the state on October 30, 2008.

Supporters of Daimary who gathered around the court premises shouted slogans as the police whisked away the NDFB chief.

Daimary, who was arrested in Bangladesh in 2010 and handed over to Indian authorities, was on bail since 2013 as he decided to take part in the peace talks with the government of India.

The nine serial blasts took place in Guwahati's Ganeshguri, Panbazar and Kachari areas and at Barpeta, Kokrajhar, and Bongaigaon towns of Assam almost simultaneously, killing 88 people and left close to 500 people injured including 160 with serious injuries.

While 53 people died in Guwahati, 20 were killed in three blasts in Kokrajhar and 15 others in Barpeta Road. No one died in the Bongaigaon blast.

The CBI, who probed the case, charge sheeted a total of 22 people in 2010 but some of them remain absconding till today. The trial began in 2011 but it was fast tracked by the BJP government in Assam in 2017.

Defence counsel Manas Sarania said they would approach a higher court against the verdict.