India jails four Bangladeshis for 10 years over Burdwan blast

An Indian court has sentenced 19 people, including four Bangladeshis, to up to 10 years in jail over the 2014 blast at Burdwan in West Bengal, local media report.

A special court of National Intelligence Agency in Kolkata on Friday jailed the Bangladeshi convicts for 10 years while the fifteen others got various terms from six to 10 years, according to The Times of India.

The Bangladeshi convicts are Sheikh Rahamatullah alias Sajid aka Burhan Sheikh alias Surot Ali, Sadiq alias Sumon aka Sadik alias Suman aka Tarikul Islam alias Raihan Shaikh, Liakot Ali Pramanik alias Rafique aka Rafiqul alias Mohammad Rubel, and Habibur Rahman alias Jahidul Islam aka Jabirul Islam alias Zafar.  

All the 19 convicts had pleaded guilty over the blast in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district on Oct 2, 2014, The ToI said. Militants were manufacturing bombs and improvised explosive devices in the house.

The convicts other than the Bangladeshi nationals include two women and a young man, who were sentenced to six years in jail.

The rest 12 convicts were sentenced to various terms from eight years to 10 years in prison.

All 19 were convicted for conspiracy and waging war against the country and under various provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

They are among 31 accused in a case over the explosion that killed two suspected militants and left another injured.

Trial of the remaining 12 accused in the case would continue, the newspaper said, quoting an NIA lawyer.