Kolkata, Dec 3 A court has sentenced five members of the Bangladeshi militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to life imprisonment.
The City Sessions Court in Kolkata on Wednesday convicted them on charges of sedition. It is learnt that the arrested were also linked to the Khagragarh blast in 2014.
It may be recalled that in 2016, five JMB members, Mohammad Rubel, Jabirul Islam, Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Maulana Yusuf Sheikh and Anwar Hossain were arrested. They were arrested from Bangaon and Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district, and the neighbouring state of Assam. The five were caught by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police. The testimony of 15 people was recorded in the long trial.
Finally, the City Sessions Court convicted the five on Tuesday. Judge Rohan Singh pronounced their sentence on Wednesday. Among the arrested, Anwar and Jabirul are Bangladeshi. The judge also found them guilty under the Foreigners Act.
The judge sentenced all five to life imprisonment in the sedition case. In addition to the life imprisonment, five people were also fined Rs 20,000 each under that section.
The judge ordered three months' imprisonment in default. Apart from this, the accused were also found guilty under other sections.
Rubel was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under another section of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. The court ordered one month's imprisonment in default.
The judge also sentenced Yusuf to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 under another section. He was ordered to six months' imprisonment in default.
Shahidul was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for another crime. The court sentenced one month's imprisonment in default.
The judge also found the other two accused, Anwar and Jabirul, guilty under the Foreigners Act. Both were sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of Rs 50,000 under that section.
The city sessions court also imposed a one-month fine in default of payment. Under another section, two Bangladeshis were sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of Rs 10,000 each. The judge ordered a one-month jail term in default.
It may be noted that these five people are also linked to the Khagragarh incident.
On October 2, 2014, on the day of Ashtami, a massive explosion took place in a house in Khagragarh in East Burdwan district. A person named Shakil Gazi died on the spot. Later, the Bangladeshi militant group JMB was linked to the incident.
According to sources, these five JMB members, who were arrested almost two years after the incident, were also involved in the explosion.
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