2 receive 10-year rigorous imprisonment in 2021 Bengal bomb blast case

A special NIA court in Kolkata has sentenced two men to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for their involvement in the 2021 Jaggadal bomb blast case in West Bengal, an official statement said Sunday.

The court sent Chand alias Arif Akhtar and Rahul Pasi to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on each offender, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a statement.

The duo, along with one juvenile, had hurled three bombs in quick succession at the gate next to ex-MP Arjun Singh's office-cum-residence -- Majdoor Bhawan -- at Jaggadal in North 24 Parganas district on September 8, 2021, the statement said.

While Akhtar and the juvenile were apprehended by the local police, the NIA, which took over the case on September 14, 2021, arrested Pasi later.

The agency had chargesheeted the accused in December 2021. While Pasi and Akhtar were pronounced guilty and sentenced by the NIA special court on Saturday, the juvenile continues to be in parental custody, the statement said.

In another case, the NIA court on Saturday convicted and sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the 2019 Lokepur bomb blast case in West Bengal.

Bablu Mondal, who had surrendered before the court in June 2022, was also fined Rs 10,000.

The blast occurred in the house of Mondal, after which the Lokepur police arrested his two sons, Niranjan Mondal and Mrityunjay Mondal. The duo absconded after being released on bail, while Mondal surrendered later.

The probe found the residential premises of the accused were used to manufacture and store crude bombs, the NIA statement said.

The NIA, which took over and re-registered the case in September 2020, chargesheeted all three accused on September 5, 2022.