Bihar court bomb blast mastermind held in Delhi

The mastermind behind the January 23 bomb blast at a court in Bihar was arrested in Delhi, police said on Wednesday.

Sachidanand Sharma alias Lambu Sharma, 25, a resident of Bihar, was the man behind the blast that occurred in Ara district court premises. He was arrested from Maharana Pratap Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) on Tuesday evening.

Police said Sharma had orchestrated the bomb blast plan to escape from police custody.

Two people were killed and 16 sustained injuries in the blast.

Sharma, who twice earlier escaped from police custody, is accused in several cases of murder, bomb blast and Arms Act violations in Bihar's Ara district.

"In the January 23 bomb blast, police constable Amit Kumar and Sharma's live-in partner Nageena were killed. At least 16 people were also injured in the blast," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Rajiv Ranjan said.

According to police, Nageena walked towards the prisoners' van talking on her phone and the blast occurred when constable Amit tried to stop her.

"Taking advantage of the ruckus created by the blast, two prisoners, Lambu Sharma and Akhilesh Upadhyaya, led from the court premises," said Ranjan.

"Akhilesh was apprehended by Bihar Police in March but Sharma remained absconding," he said.

"Since then, Sharma was on the run, travelling across various states like Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh," Ranjan added.