NIA files second supplementary charge sheet in Burdwan blast case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed its second supplementary charge sheet in the Burdwan bomb blast case, slapping fresh charges against 28 accused for waging war against Bangladesh - an Asiatic power which is in alliance and peace with India.

The charge sheet filed by the NIA probing the October 2, 2014, accidental blast in Burdwan district's Khagragarh alleges that the "accused persons were associated with each other and hatched a conspiracy to establish Sharia law in Bangladesh by toppling democratically elected government".

The charge was brought under section 125 of the Indian Penal Code that deals with those "waging war against the government of any Asiatic power in alliance or at peace with the the government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war", NIA counsel Shyamal Kumar Ghosh told IANS.

It carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, besides a fine.

The fresh charges also include forgery under section 468 and using forged documents as genuine under section 471 respectively of the IPC.

"NIA has till date brought charges against 28 people including Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member and a key co-conspirator Nurul Hoque alias Naeem. Eighteen of the accused are behind bars," said Ghosh.