2008 Assam serial blast case: CBI court convicts 15, including NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary; quantum of sentence on 30 Jan

A CBI court on Monday convicted 15 people, including National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) chairman Ranjan Daimary, in the 2008 serial blasts across Assam and said that the quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Wednesday. Daimary was the main accused in the serial blasts that left over 88 dead and 540 injured. The blasts had ripped through Guwahati’s Ganeshguri, Panbazar and Kachari areas and also struck Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon almost simultaneously. [caption id=“attachment_5974131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Site of the bomb blast in Guwahati. PTI[/caption] According to the prosecution, there were nine blasts in which 53 were killed in the three explosions in Guwahati, 20 in Kokrajhar and 15 in Barpeta Road. There were no casualties in the Bongaigaon blast. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had charged 22 people, including the NDFB chief, in 2009. The chargesheet also named 650 witnesses and listed 682 documents, including post-mortem reports, confessional statements of those apprehended and details of calls made by some of the accused. TD Goswami, special public prosecutor, said, “There were two chargesheets — one for 19 accused and another for three others. Seven accused are absconding — of which, it is learnt unofficially, at least two are no more,” according to The Indian Express. The report also quoted NS Yadav, the investigating officer of the case, as saying, “We have got conviction for all 15. We have demanded death penalty.” The NDFB is an armed separatist outfit that is designated as a terrorist organisation by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The movement is for an autonomous region for Bodo people. Although a total of 14 cases were registered against Daimary in the serial blasts, he was granted bail in 2013 after the CBI submitted a no objection to his conditional bail considering the fact that he was taking part in peace talks with the government. With inputs from agencies