Ranjan Daimary, 14 others convicted in Assam serial blasts case

Guwahati: The long wait for justice for the October 30, 2008 serial blasts across Assam is finally over. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Judge AK Chakrabarty on Monday held the 15 accused, including National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) chairman Ranjan Daimary, guilty following CBI’s two charge-sheets filed in the case.

The CBI court has convicted all the 15 accused under IPC section – 120(B), 324, 322, 300, 435,436, and UAPA sections – 10, 13, 16 and 20. Meanwhile, Ranjan Daimary and 14 others have been sent to the Guwahati Central Jail. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Wednesday. Public prosecutor Tutumoni Debo Goswami informed that the state has demanded capital punishment for the convicted persons.

The CBI had filed a charge-sheet against 22 people, including the NDFB chief in 2009 and held Daimary as the prime accused. While 15 were arrested by the security forces in 2015, seven are absconding of which one insurgent is believed to have died. The charge-sheet also named 620 witnesses and listed 682 documents, including post-mortem reports, confessional statements of those apprehended and details of calls made by some of the accused.

The blast that left over 88 dead and 540 injured ripped through Guwahati’s Ganeshguri, Pan Bazar and Kachari areas and also struck at Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon almost simultaneously.

According to the prosecution, there were nine blasts in which 53 were killed in Guwahati, 20 in Kokrajhar and 15 in Barpeta Road. However, no one was injured in the Bongaigaon blast.

Speaking to EastMojo, Anjali Daimary, a rights activist and sister of Daimary, said that the peace process and conviction judgment cannot go hand in hand.

Following the blasts, Daimary was arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to Indian authorities in May 2010. 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. Daimary was the only one among the 15 convicts who was on bail since their arrest.