2013 Patna Gandhi Maidan Blasts: NIA Court Pronounces Quantum Of Punishment, Four Awarded Death Sentence

Earlier, the NIA court had convicted nine accused in the serial blasts that took place at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on October 27, 2013.

NIA Court convicted 9 accused on October 27

New Delhi: The NIA Court on Monday pronounced quantum of punishment for nine convicts in the 2013 Patna Gandhi Maidan serial blasts case.

Four of the nine convicts have been awarded capital punishment, two were given life imprisonment, two got 10 years imprisonment and one gets 7-year jail term.

The four convicts who have been awarded the death penalty are Imtiaz Ansari, Haider Ali alias Black Beauty, Noman Ansari and Muzibullah Ansari. Umar Sidiqqi and Azaharuddin Kuresi have been given life imprisonment, while Ahmed Hussain and Feroz Aslam were awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment and Iftikhar Alam has been given a 7-year jail term, news agency IANS reported.

The court stated that the charges of sedition, criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, and UAPA levelled by the NIA have been proven.

Earlier, the NIA court had convicted nine accused in the serial blasts that took place at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on October 27, 2013. One accused Faqeuddin was acquitted due to lack of evidence and another was a minor who was sent to the Juvenile Justice Board.

2013 Patna Serial Blast Case

In 2013, at least six bombs had gone off in Patna during Narendra Modi’s “hunkar” rally. Modi was then Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister.

The blasts had left six dead and many more injured. The first blast took place at Patna railway station, and the others in and around Gandhi Maidan before Modi and other leaders reached the venue.

The case was taken by the NIA in 2013 which arrested the alleged mastermind Haider Ali in 2014. The charge sheet was filed by the NIA in 2014. And the final hearing of the case had started in 2018.

Who All Have Been Convicted?

The Additional District and Sessions Judge Gurvinder Singh Mehrotra convicted Haider Ali alias “Black Beauty”, Imtiyaz Ansari, Mohammed Mujibullah Ansari, Umar Siddiqui, Azharuddin Qureshi, Ahmed Hussain, Nawaz Ansari, Mohammed Iftekhar Alam, and Feroz Aslam on Wednesday, October 27. Another accused, Fakruddin was acquitted due to lack of evidence. The minor was sentenced to three years in 2017 by the Juvenile Justice Board.

Nine of the accused were members of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and one was associated with the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

(With Agency Inputs)