A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Patna, India on Friday sentenced life term to three accused and imprisonment for 10 years to five others in connection with a serial bomb explosion case of 2018 at Bodhgaya in south Bihar. The blast took place on January 19, 2018, outside the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya minutes after Buddhist monk the Dalai Lama ended his religious sermon at ‘Kal Chakra Maidan’. A number of foreign tourists, mostly monks, were present at the explosion site. While three accused --- Paigamber Sheikh, Noor Alam Momin and Ahmad Ali -- were awarded life imprisonment, Arif Hussain, Adil Sheikh, Mustafa Rahman, Dilawar Hussain and Abdul were given a 10-year jail term. However, another accused, Zahidul Islam, didn’t confess his involvement in the incident.

Source: The Nation December 18, 2021 11:05 UTC