2013 serial blasts at Modi rally: Four IM terrorists get death sentence

New Delhi, Oct 27: A Special NIA Court in Patna has awarded a death penalty to four Indian Mujahideen operatives in connection with the 2013 Gandhi Maidan serial blasts. It may be recalled that the blasts took place just before Narendra Modi, the then prime ministerial candidate was to deliver an address during the Hunkar rally.

The court had last week convicted 9 persons in the case. Two other terrorists were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment, two to 10 years RI and one more was awarded a seven year sentence.

While 9 were convicted, one person Fakhruddin has been acquitted in the case. The sentencing of the nine accused including Haider Ali, Numan Ansari, Majibullah, Umar Siddiqui, Firoz Aslam and Imtiaz Alam will take place on November 1.

Six people were killed and scores were injured in the serial blasts that took place in Patna, Bihar on October 27 2013. The rally however went on with Modi delivering the address, thanks to which a stampede was avoided at the packed Gandhi Maidan. The speech also calmed the nerves of the people present there.

The Indian Mujahideen was accused of carrying out the blasts. Nine IM operatives and a cadre of the Students Islamic Movement of India were made arraigned as accused in the case.

Haider Ali alias Black Beauty, Human Ansari, Mohammad Ansari, Umar Siddiqui, Azharuddin Qureshi, Faqruddin Mohammad, Ahmed Ansari, Mohammad Alam were identified as the accused. The identity of one accused was protected as he was a minor. The minor was sentenced to three years by the Juvenile Justice Board.

One accused, Tariq Ansari died while trying to plant a bomb inside a public toilet in Patna. The accused are currently launched in a Patna jail.

The case was taken up by the NIA on November 6 2013 and a chargesheet was filed on August 21 2014. The NIA said that the accused had planned the Patna blasts after they failed to get close to Modi during his previous rallies in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.

In this case there were 250 prosecution witnesses all of whom deposed before the court. In all there were 17 IEDS of which seven had been detonated.